Coral Mortality and African Dust Photo Gallery

Four Decades of Change

Grecian Rocks star coral 11 photos brain coral 3 photos star coral 3 photos star coral 5 photos

Carysfort Reef star coral 5 photos brain coral 6 photos

Photo Gallery Grecian Rocks star coral 11 photos: 1961 - 2001 Grecian Rocks brain coral 3 photos: 1959 - 1998 Grecian Rocks star coral 3 photos: 1988 - 2001 Grecian Rocks star coral 5 photos: 1961 - 2001 Carysfort Reef star coral 5 photos: 1960 - 2001 Carysfort Reef brain coral 6 photos: 1960 - 2001

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.