Scientists have found that the 2023 marine heat wave caused âfunctional extinctionâ of two Acropora reef-building coral species living in the Florida Reef, which stretches from the Dry Tortugas National Park to Miami.
âAt this point, we do not think thereâs much of a chance for natural recoveryâtheir numbers are so low that successful reproduction is incredibly unlikely,â said Ross Cunning, a coral biologist at the John G. Shedd Aquarium.
This isnât the first time corals have faced the borderline of extinction over the last 460 million years, and they have always managed to bounce back and recolonize habitats lost during severe climate changes. The problem is that we wonât live long enough to see them doing that again.
