A new study finds that 70 percent of Florida's coral reefs are being eroded

A new study finds that 70 percent of Florida's coral reefs are experiencing erosion and coral reef habitat is being net lost
.
The study, conducted by an interdisciplinary team of scientists through the NOAA Collaborative Institute for Ocean and Atmospheric Research at the University of Miami's Rosenstier School of Oceanic, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, provided new information
about the state of Florida's world-famous coral reefs.

John Morris, lead author of the study and a researcher at the National Oceanic and Meteorological Laboratory, said: "This study helps us better understand which reefs in Florida's coral reef are vulnerable to habitat loss and need to be managed and restored to prevent further habitat loss
.
" "Instead, we also found some reefs that could be potential resistance to reef development and are more likely to persist
in the future.
"

The researchers analyzed benthic ecology, the combination of all organisms that live on the seafloor, as well as parrotfish data from 723 coral reef sites in three biogeographic regions of the state to calculate the carbonate budget
for each site.
The Great Barrier Reef stretches 350 miles
from Gantotugas Bay to St.
Lucie's Bay.
A positive carbonate balance indicates that the reef is growing over time, while a negative carbonate balance indicates that the reef is losing its structure
.

The data comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program and National Geodetic Survey, which is used to calculate carbonate production and carbonate erosion
throughout South Florida.
The main drivers of carbonate budgets in Florida's reef areas are the amount of coral cover and parrotfish biomass
.
They found that 506 of these sites were losing coral reef habitat
every year.

"These findings underscore the need for enhanced management strategies, such as planting corals, to help restore coral structures that have been lost," said study co-author Erica Towle, coordinator of NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program and an alumnus
of the UM Rosenstiel Academy.
"Going forward, we can use this as a benchmark to implement and track the success of
our management strategy.
"

The Florida Reef Drive is the only living coral reef in the continental United States and the third largest coral reef system
in the world.

The biggest drivers of coral loss in Florida over the past decade include bleaching events, ship groundings and diseases such as the stony coral tissue loss disease discovered in 2014, which continues to wreak havoc on coral reefs
in Florida and the Caribbean in large numbers.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Florida's reefs provide 70,000 jobs and generate about $8.
5 billion in sales and revenue
annually.
Healthy coral reefs also protect coastlines from flooding and storm surges
.

"Unless management strategies are implemented, eroded reefs in Florida may reduce the extent to which
reefs sustain these important economic and ecosystem services," Morris said.