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Photo Gallery
four decades of change |
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Significant Mortality Events: |
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Four Decades of Change
The photographs in this gallery were taken over a period of about forty years at two locations,
Grecian Rocks and Carysfort Reef, in the Key Largo Coral Reef Marine Sanctuary in Florida.
At Grecian Rocks, and at Carysfort Reef about 15 kilometers to the north, clear evidence can
be seen of the changes affecting these corals.
In some of the earlier photos the aftermath of Hurricane Donna is apparent in the damage that
can be seen at some locations. Donna was a Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall in Florida in 1960.
In 1978-79 staghorn and elkhorn corals suffered and extensive die-off in Florida. This change can be seen
clearly in the first and last star coral photo sets at Grecian Rocks, and in the brain coral photo set from
Carysfort Reef.
By the late 1990s some of the corals that remained at these locations were afflicted with black band
disease, algal infestation, or coral bleaching.
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