We are proud to share a new scientific paper co authored with NOAA - AOML on Miami's intertidal urban corals and their potential scientific value. Read 'Coral persistence despite marginal conditions in the Port of Miami' in the research journal Scientific Reports: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-33467-7
In July of 2021, our first research paper with NOAA AOML (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.695236/full) yielded strong evidence that these pioneering corals avoid bleaching and stem disease better than their conspecifics offshore on the natural reefs.
In this new paper, the monitoring of sites throughout the Port since 2018 revealed periodic extremes in temperature, seawater pH, and salinity, far in excess of what have been measured in most coral reef environments. Despite conditions that would kill many reef species, we have documented diverse coral communities growing on artificial substrates at these sites—reflecting remarkable tolerance to environmental stressors. Furthermore, many of the more prevalent species within these communities are now conspicuously absent or in low abundance on nearby reefs, owing to their susceptibility and exposure to stony coral tissue loss disease.
As we hypothesized in 2014 and evidenced by our recent findings, Miami's system of urban waterways provides an inadvertent anthropogenic laboratory whose corals hold keys to understanding how the world's coral reefs might adapt to changing climate in the decades to come.
