Take what I say with a grain of salt as I am no expert and all I’m about to say is based off personal observation!!
I personally believe that the “hot tub like” water temperatures and the “instant coral death” that the news has been talking about is completely overblown. As I Florida resident I can say yes, it’s hot out. Every year I visit the Florida keys late July and early August ( I’ll be there next week). My first observation is in the bays and specifically in the spot that the record 100+ temperature was recorded is a spot that is very shallow and surrounded by islands. The spot mimics a marsh with very little water flow and I’d be doubtful if any corals were every present in that area. With that being said yes water temps are certainly higher than our reef tank temps but the corals in the keys are found at much greater depths than 1 meter like the record temperatures and are subject to much lower than 100 degrees. These corals are also well adapted to changing temperature as real ocean water temperatures are never consistent. Currents bring cold and hot waters in the blink of an eye and it’s kind of uncomfortable when diving. Next week I’ll be in the lower keys and I’ll make sure to post about what I observe. I plan on making numerous dives over protected and non protected reefs that have the most vulnerable of corals (stag horn and Elkhorn) and I look forward to sharing what I find.
I personally believe that the “hot tub like” water temperatures and the “instant coral death” that the news has been talking about is completely overblown. As I Florida resident I can say yes, it’s hot out. Every year I visit the Florida keys late July and early August ( I’ll be there next week). My first observation is in the bays and specifically in the spot that the record 100+ temperature was recorded is a spot that is very shallow and surrounded by islands. The spot mimics a marsh with very little water flow and I’d be doubtful if any corals were every present in that area. With that being said yes water temps are certainly higher than our reef tank temps but the corals in the keys are found at much greater depths than 1 meter like the record temperatures and are subject to much lower than 100 degrees. These corals are also well adapted to changing temperature as real ocean water temperatures are never consistent. Currents bring cold and hot waters in the blink of an eye and it’s kind of uncomfortable when diving. Next week I’ll be in the lower keys and I’ll make sure to post about what I observe. I plan on making numerous dives over protected and non protected reefs that have the most vulnerable of corals (stag horn and Elkhorn) and I look forward to sharing what I find.
