Catastrophic loss of Florida's staghorn and elkhorn corals highlights accelerating climate pressures for reefs worldwide

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https://phys.org/news/2025-10-catastrophic-loss-florida-staghorn-elkhorn.html
New research reports the functional extinction of Acropora corals from Florida's Coral Reef. Scientists have documented catastrophic mortality of these critically endangered corals following a record-setting marine heat wave in 2023 that marked the ninth mass bleaching event for the region.

Both Acropora coral species—staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) and elkhorn (Acropora palmata)—are important reef-builders in Florida and the Caribbean and have been a major focus of recent coral restoration efforts.
The study is published in the journal Science. Led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch and Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, the study involved 47 authors representing 22 institutions that contributed data detailing the coral die-off.

While some individual elkhorn and staghorn corals remain, their numbers are now so low that they can no longer fulfill their vital roles in the ecosystem—providing habitat for marine life and helping protect coastlines. This collapse of ecological function marks what scientists call a functional extinction, a stage that often precedes global extinction or the complete disappearance of species.