Scientists have confirmed that two of Florida’s most iconic reef-building corals — elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) and staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) — are now functionally extinct off the state’s coast. 🪸💔 While a few scattered colonies still survive, their numbers are now too low and isolated to reproduce effectively or sustain the reef ecosystem they once built. Once the backbone of Florida’s shallow reefs, these corals provided vital shelter for marine life and natural protection f

Endangered staghorn coral in the Coral Restoration Foundation's coral nursery in Key Largo spawned last night at 10:40 p.m.! Teams from the Aquarium and our conservation partners sprang into action to collect the coral gametes. This research will one day restore declining reefs in coastal Florida and the Caribbean! This spawn was performed under permitted action. #CoralSpawn2017 -with Georgia Aquarium, Akron Zoo, South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation, SeaWorld, and Columbus Zoo

Have you ever seen a staghorn coral up close? 📸Jackson Harris for Coral Restoration Foundation #coralrestoration #coralreef #generationrestoration #technology #wildlife #reefhealth #raisethereef #impact #protectwhatyoulove #dowhatyoulove #reefbuilders #savethereef #wethereef #oceanstewards #reefbuildingcoral #coralpassion #oceanrescue #explore #explorepage #trending #foryou #fyp | Coral Restoration Foundation

Have you ever witnessed coral spawning? Tell us about it! This video shows staghorn corals in our Tavernier Coral Nursery spawning in 2019. Each of those floating white dots is a coral gamete bundle, a little pack of coral genes surrounded by a layer of fat to help it float. After about 30 minutes the bundles will dissolve, releasing their eggs and sperm into the water in the hopes of fertilization! In an effort to help that process occur CRF™ scientists collect gamete bundles and hold them in a