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Florida's Coral Reefs Quick Topics

Florida is the only state in the continental United States to have extensive shallow coral reef

formations near its coasts. Coral reefs create specialized habitats that provide shelter, food and

breeding sites for numerous plants and animals, including spiny lobster, snapper and other

commercial and recreational species. Coral reefs lay the foundation of a dynamic ecosystem with

tremendous biodiversity. The Florida Reef Tract (FRT) stretches 358 miles from the Dry Tortugas

National Park off of the Florida Keys to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. Roughly two thirds of the

Florida Reef Tract lies within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), a marine protected

area that surrounds the Florida Keys island chain. The reefs stretching north of the FKNMS are

managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Coral Reef Conservation

Program (CRCP) and the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI), which is one of several

programs administered by the CRCP.

Florida's coral reefs came into existence 5,000 to 7,000 years ago when sea levels rose following the

last Ice Age. Reef growth is relatively slow; an individual colony may grow one-half inch to 7 inches a

year, depending on the species. All coral reefs are in a constant state of flux. While expanding with

new polyps (the living tissue) on the outer surface, they are simultaneously being ground into sand

by storms and animals. During long periods of favorable conditions, the reefs may reach

awe-inspiring heights and diversity.

Corals are classified as animals, yet

microscopic plants live within the animal

tissues in a symbiotic relationship. The coral

animals benefit from the sugars and oxygen

that the plants provide through photosynthesis

and the plants gain nutrients from animal

waste and are protected within the coral

tissues. These tiny plants give the coral much

of its color.

Coral reef development occurs only in areas

with specific environmental characteristics: a

solid structure for attachment, relatively warm

water temperatures, clear waters low in

phosphate and nitrogen nutrients, and

moderate wave action to disperse wastes and

bring oxygen and plankton to the reef. Most of

Florida's sport fish species and many other

marine animals spend significant parts of their

lives around coral reefs.

Close-up detail of coral polyps on a great star coral

(Montastrea cavernosa)

Photo: Dave Gilliam, National Coral Reef Institute

Types of Reefs and Corals

The three major types of coral reefs around the world are atolls, fringing reefs and barrier reefs.

Florida's coral reef system most closely resembles a barrier reef, however, the reefs are closer to

shore and they lack the shallow inshore lagoons found on most barrier reefs so it is more aptly

named a bank reef. Florida also has patch reefs, which grow between the reef tract and the land in

shallower waters. Patch reefs are typically small (the size of your back yard or a small home).

More than 45 species of stony corals and 37 species of octocorals are found along the Florida Reef

Tract. Each kind lives in a separate colony that is shaped differently. The colonies take on the various

hues of the algae that live within them. Corals can generally be divided into two main categories:

stony corals and octocorals (sea fans and other soft corals). Marine sponges are also very important

within the coral reef community and over 70 species can be found along the Florida Reef Tract.

Stony corals are the major reef architects. Polyps, the living portion of corals, extract calcium from

seawater and combine it with carbon dioxide to construct the elaborate limestone skeletons that form

the reef backbone.

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Florida's Coral Reefs http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/coral/

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A coral reef off Fort Lauderdale, FL with federally threatened

staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis) in the right foreground

Photo: Dave Gilliam, National Coral Reef Institute

Florida's most common reef-building corals are

brain, star, elkhorn and staghorn. Brain coral is

dome-shaped and has the waves, folds and

ridges that resemble those of a human brain.

Star coral is also dome-shaped, but has a

distinctive star pattern on its surface that is

caused by the accordion-like folds within its polyp

cups. Elkhorn and staghorn corals are so named

because their branchlike projections resemble the

antlers of those animals. In recent years, corals

have experienced declines due to a combination

of factors, including coral disease and damage

from hurricanes. In 2006, elkhorn and staghorn

coral were listed as threatened species under the

Endangered Species Act. To restore these corals

that were once so abundant, coral nurseries have

become established along Florida's coast and in

the Florida Keys. Nurseries are growing new

colonies and successfully out-planting them to

locations where they had once flourished.

Octocorals, some of which are also called gorgonians, look like strange trees and shrubs, although

they too are composed of living polyps. Unlike stony corals, octocorals are unable to build thick

limestone skeletons, but are supported by an internal structure composed of a horn-like substance

called gorgonin.

The most common octocorals in Florida are sea fans and sea whips. Sea fans are pale lavender or

green fan-shaped corals. Their fans flutter in the ocean current like lace curtains. Sea whips have

long feathery branches that spread in all directions. They can be orange, lilac, purple, yellow, brown

or buff.

Along the northern extension of the Florida Reef Tract, the reefs generally occur in a series of one to

three discontinuous reef lines (terraces) that parallel the shoreline, extending north from Miami-Dade

County to Martin County.

Different reef organisms characterize the type of habitats found along Florida reefs, typically

transitioning from a cover of algae and small octocorals nearshore to numerous octocorals and varied

hard coral populations at the outer reefs. The various reef architectural and compositional

components create an environment that is ecologically diverse and productive, one that supports

many other aquatic plants and animals that make southeast Florida reefs their home.

Last updated: July 19, 2011

3900 Commonwealth Boulevard M.S. 235 Tallahassee, Florida 32399 850-245-2094 (phone) / 850-245-2110 (fax)

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Florida's Coral Reefs http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/coral/

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