Coral Monitoring in Buck Island Reef National Monument: 2025 Coral Monitoring Status Report
Richter L, Feeley MW, Kreyer A. 2026. Coral Monitoring in Buck Island Reef National Monument: 2025 Coral Monitoring Status Report. Science Report. NPS/SR—2026/459. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2318409
Coral reef ecosystems are among the most ecologically significant resources managed by the National Park Service (NPS). Long-term monitoring provides the scientific foundation needed to evaluate reef condition and track ecological change. The South Florida/Caribbean Network (SFCN) conducts coral reef monitoring at Buck Island Reef National Monument (NM) to assess trends in benthic community composition. This report synthesizes more than two decades of data from two monitoring sites: South Fore Reef (SFR), a shallow fore reef monitored since 2002, and Buck Island Bar (BAR), a deeper mesophotic reef monitored since 2017. Both sites are dominated by Orbicella spp., which are historically important reef-building corals in the Caribbean. Coral community dynamics at both sites appear to be driven primarily by episodic disturbance events. At SFR, stony coral cover remained relatively stable until 2005, when a severe bleaching event and subsequent White Plague outbreak caused an approximately 80% decline. Coral cover partially recovered between 2007 and 2021. The emergence of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) in 2021 resulted in rapid declines at both sites, with coral cover decreasing by approximately 70% at BAR and approximately 42% at SFR. Severe thermal stress in 2023 and 2024 led to additional declines in coral cover and species richness. In contrast, moderate bleaching events and major hurricanes produced limited and short-lived effects at the monitored sites. Gorgonian cover remained relatively stable throughout the monitoring period, whereas stony coral communities exhibited shifts in composition, including declines in dominant reef-building corals and increasing relative abundance of more disturbance-tolerant taxa. The remaining assemblage is increasingly composed of taxa that are either relatively abundant, less susceptible to disease and thermal stress, or both. These findings suggest that infrequent but severe disturbances are the primary drivers of long-term coral decline in Buck Island Reef NM, with site-specific responses influenced by depth, community composition, and host density.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Richter, Lee; Feeley, Michael; Kreyer, Allison
- Date of Issue
- 2026-07
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2318409
- Units
- BUIS , NRSS
- Keywords
- Benthic, Bleaching, Buck Island Reef National Monument, Caribbean, Coral, Coral Disease, Coral Reef, Coral Reef Protocol, Disturbance, Gorgonian, Marine, National Park Service, South Florida/Caribbean Network, Stony Coral, Water temperature
Series
See also
- SFCN Coral Reef Monitoring Data Package Version 2 (1999-2024): CDR, Disease, Species List, and Video Datasets
- Coral reef ecosystem water temperature monitoring: Protocol narrative—version 1.2
- Coral reef monitoring: Protocol narrative—Version 2.0
- SFCN Coral Reef Community Monitoring (1999 - Ongoing)
- SFCN Water Temperature Monitoring (1998 - Ongoing)