Florida Keys Corals: A Photographic Record of Changes from 1959 to 2015

This data release contains time-series photographs taken of corals and coral habitats in the Florida Keys between 1959 and 2015 at Carysfort Reef and Grecian Rocks (a total of six sites). The original intent was to show coral reef recovery after Hurricane Donna devastated the area in 1960. Corals, especially elkhorn and staghorn coral, grew prolifically after the storm until the late 1970s, then began to decline, with the maximum period of decline centered around 1983 and 1984. These time-series photographs, showing the same individual coral colonies year after year, document the decline in coral health observed at these locations, mirroring patterns seen region-wide across the western Atlantic. A selection of the photographs was previously published (in low resolution) in Lidz and others (2006), wherein findings and conclusions related to these data were discussed. Lidz, B. H., Reich, C. D., Peterson, R. L., and Shinn, E. A. (2006). New maps, new information: Coral reefs of the Florida Keys. Journal of Coastal Research, 22(2), 260-282, https://doi.org/10.2112/05A-0023.1

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
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identifier USGS:a28f5d1e-3ade-487e-94c8-52f1b62434c0
metadata_type geospatial
modified 20201013
old-spatial -80.30626944, 25.09450278, -80.21159167, 25.22205833
publisher U.S. Geological Survey
publisher_hierarchy Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash ecbc777b18cb1ed0cf35e37a27db4203240e5ca2
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-80.30626944, 25.09450278], [-80.30626944, 25.22205833], [ -80.21159167, 25.22205833], [ -80.21159167, 25.09450278], [-80.30626944, 25.09450278]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • acropora-cervicornis
  • acropora-palmata
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • aquatic-biology
  • atlantic-ocean
  • ckan
  • coelenterates
  • coral
  • coral-reef
  • environment
  • florida
  • florida-keys
  • geo
  • geoscientificinformation
  • geoss
  • key-largo
  • marine-geology
  • monroe-county
  • national
  • north-america
  • oceans
  • orbicella-faveolata
  • united-states
  • usgs-a28f5d1e-3ade-487e-94c8-52f1b62434c0
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer Ilsa B. Kuffner
maintainer_email ikuffner@usgs.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-22T03:00:40.920062
metadata_modified 2025-11-22T03:00:40.920067
notes This data release contains time-series photographs taken of corals and coral habitats in the Florida Keys between 1959 and 2015 at Carysfort Reef and Grecian Rocks (a total of six sites). The original intent was to show coral reef recovery after Hurricane Donna devastated the area in 1960. Corals, especially elkhorn and staghorn coral, grew prolifically after the storm until the late 1970s, then began to decline, with the maximum period of decline centered around 1983 and 1984. These time-series photographs, showing the same individual coral colonies year after year, document the decline in coral health observed at these locations, mirroring patterns seen region-wide across the western Atlantic. A selection of the photographs was previously published (in low resolution) in Lidz and others (2006), wherein findings and conclusions related to these data were discussed. Lidz, B. H., Reich, C. D., Peterson, R. L., and Shinn, E. A. (2006). New maps, new information: Coral reefs of the Florida Keys. Journal of Coastal Research, 22(2), 260-282, https://doi.org/10.2112/05A-0023.1
num_resources 2
num_tags 25
title Florida Keys Corals: A Photographic Record of Changes from 1959 to 2015