![]() ![]() When temperatures get too high, the coral expels the algae, making the reefs appear white or bleached. The reefs get their color from the algae that live inside them and are the corals’ food. Previous Alert Level 2s were reached in August, she said.Ĭoral reefs are made up of tiny organisms that link together. Surface temperatures around the Keys have been averaging about 91 degrees (33 Celsius), well above the normal mid-July average of 85 degrees (29.5 Celsius), said Jacqueline De La Cour, operations manager for NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program. (Liv Williamson/University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science via AP) (AP) Some Florida Keys corals are losing their color weeks earlier in the summer than has been documented before, meaning they are under stress and their health is potentially endangered, federal scientists said. ![]() This photo provided by the University of Miami Coral Reef Futures Lab, shows bleaching to elkhorn coral on Thursday, July 20, 2023, in the North Dry Rocks Reef off the coast of Key Largo, Fla. That level is reached when the average water surface temperature is about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) above the normal maximum for eight straight weeks. Scientists with NOAA this week raised their coral bleaching warning system to Alert Level 2 for the Keys, their highest heat stress level out of five. “The corals are pale, it looks like the color’s draining out,” said Lesneski, who has spent several days on the reefs over the last two weeks. The corals should be vibrant and colorful this time of year, but are swiftly going white, said Katey Lesneski, research and monitoring coordinator for Mission: Iconic Reefs, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched to protect Florida coral reefs. (AP) - Some Florida Keys coral reefs are losing their color weeks earlier than normal this summer because of record-high water temperatures, meaning they are under stress and their health is potentially endangered, federal scientists said. ![]()
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