Jenna Dilworth, a Ph.D. student in Carly Kenkel’s lab, takes photos of a transplanted staghorn coral in the waters off the southern tip of Florida. Once back at USC, Dilworth and the other members of Kenkel’s lab stitch their photos together into 3D models that can be used to take measurements of corals from a variety of angles. The measurements help researchers determine how the corals’ genes affect their shape, size, and suitability for conservation or restoration projects. (Erich Bartels/Joe Kuehl, Mote Marine Laboratory)
Study finds 2 coral species now functionally extinct off Florida Keys – but we can give them a fighting chance
Original story by Carly Kenkel, Jenna Dilworth, and Maya Gomez
In the summer of 2023, USC Dornsife Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Carly Kenkel and her Cnidarian Evolutionary Ecology Lab (CEE Lab) led the charge to transplant hundreds of corals to the lower Florida Keys. In just three weeks, however, a marine heat wave started brewing, bleaching or killing many of the transplanted corals. By the end of the summer, only three of the 200 corals they had transplanted survived.
This was a pattern across the Florida Keys and around the world: Staghorn and elkhorn (both Acroporid corals) suffered significant levels of bleaching and death. As of today, these species are now functionally extinct on Floria’s coral reef – there are not enough left to fulfill their ecological role.
Can these corals be saved?
According to Kenkel and fellow scientists, surviving corals could be bred with other Caribbean populations to boost their population and increase their genetic diversity. With developments in technologies such as microfragmentation and cryopreservation, as well as strides in curbing carbon emissions that contribute to rising ocean temperatures, we could see these corals restored.
Read the full story in The Conversation >>
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