home

Habitat

Coral species richness has declined in recurring monitoring sites throughout the Keys by ~5 species. Average stony coral live tissue area per survey site has also declined in the past 9 years. However, the average density of non-reef building octocoral per site has slightly increased in the past 10 years. Average seagrass abundance in all species has seen variability between years due to die-off events, but is currently in a period of continued decline since 2014. Coral resilience to events such as bleaching and disease has been seen at some patch reefs- specifically Cheeca Rocks, illustrated here.