Iconic Coral in the Lower Keys Disappears

From WLRN environment reporter Jenny Staletovich:

The blistering summer heat wave that hammered South Florida’s coral reefs last year wiped out the last wild stands of its iconic elkhorn coral in the Lower Keys, the NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary announced this week.

The deaths amounted to a 77% loss in genetic diversity needed to help sustain a vanishing coral that once blanketed Florida reefs.

Full report http://www.wlrn.org/.../elkhorn-coral-reef-heat-florida-keys