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August 29, 2020: Plate Coral

The major finding from the Coral Ecosystem Connectivity 2015: From Pulley Ridge to the Florida Keys expedition was that a new coral area discovered in Pulley Ridge (off the southwest coast of Florida) in 2014 was twice as large as scientists originally thought. They found large areas of the plate coral Agaricia dominated by small recruits (10 centimeters/4 inches or less in size). Scientists believe this is indicative of a very significant recruitment during the last five years, following what is still an unexplained decline in corals at Pulley Ridge.

Image courtesy of Coral Ecosystem Connectivity 2015 Expedition. Download larger version (jpg, 1.5 MB).

The major finding from the Coral Ecosystem Connectivity 2015: From Pulley Ridge to the Florida Keys expedition was that a coral area first discovered in 2014 in Pulley Ridge (off the southwest coast of Florida) was twice as large as scientists originally thought. The 2015 expedition team found large areas of the plate coral Agaricia dominated by small recruits (10 centimeters/4 inches or less in size). Scientists believe this is indicative of a very significant recruitment during the last five years, following what is still an unexplained decline in corals at Pulley Ridge.

From: Mission Summary.