A decade of decline of massive corals in Florida patch reefs

Abstract

Patch reefs are the most common reef type in the Florida Reef Tract, which represents the largest tropical reef area in the conterminous United States. Clusters of large massive corals of the Montastraea group form the backbone of these reefs and are of paramount importance as they provide habitat for a large variety of invertebrates and fish. Significant increases in dead surface area in clusters from 51% in 1995 to 67% in 2005 on average along the reef tract were observed during this long-term study. Even though the causes of decline are not entirely clear, the results are alarming because patch reefs are considered to be the reef type, which suffered the least decline in Florida in recent time.