Abstract
Recently, questions about the health of the coral reefs of the Florida Keys have been raised. Estimates of net recruitment and mortality of reef corals on Carysfort Reef, Key Largo, Florida, suggest that these populations declined over the 14 month interval studied. The greatest rate of change on Carysfort Reef, the most well developed reef in the northern Keys, occurred in the zone of richest coverage by corals. Water pollution associated with the tremendous increase in the human population of South Florida in the last twenty years may be contributing to the reef's decline.
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Dustan, P. Vitality of reef coral populations off Key Largo, Florida: Recruitment and mortality. Geo 2, 51–58 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02430665
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02430665