Florida’s coral reef is getting an injection of hope from some unlikely hybrid corals.
This spring, scientists from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, Mote Marine Laboratory, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Park Service outplanted experimental “Flonduran” corals inside Dry Tortugas National Park — a milestone that could eventually inform restoration efforts throughout the entire Florida reef tract, including the Keys. Honduran partner Tela Marine and U.S.-based nonprofit Tela Coral helped make the international collaboration possible.
The 2-year-old Flondurans are experimental offspring created by breeding Florida Keys elkhorn corals with unusually resilient elkhorns from Tela Bay, Honduras. In the latter, scientists have documented rare, robust elkhorn coral populations living in warmer, more nutrient-rich waters than researchers once believed the species could tolerate. Researchers hope the hybrids inherit beneficial traits from their Tela parent corals, including greater tolerance for warmer, nutrient-rich conditions.
The Dry Tortugas deployment builds on another milestone. In July 2025, researchers planted the first-ever “Flonduran” elkhorn corals onto an experimental reef off Key Biscayne. Regulators approved that first trial because the Gulf Stream isolates the site from the Florida reef tract, meaning any offspring would be swept out to sea rather than naturally recruiting onto Florida’s reefs.
One year later, researchers say those corals are continuing to do well, paving the way for testing the hybrids on live reefs in Dry Tortugas, where offspring could eventually become part of Florida’s reef ecosystem.
If successful, the approach could help inform restoration strategies across Florida’s entire barrier reef, the 350-mile reef tract that includes the 120-mile Florida Keys island chain.
The timing couldn’t be more important.
Elkhorn coral, once one of the Caribbean’s dominant reef builders, has declined by more than 95% across the Florida Keys. Following the devastating 2023 marine heat wave, scientists declared Florida’s elkhorn and staghorn corals functionally extinct. They no longer can play a significant role in the ecosystem, cannot successfully reproduce, and/or now lack the genetic diversity to sustain their populations.
“This is a critical step in field-testing measures to help reefs adapt to increased ocean temperatures,” said professor Andrew Baker, the principal investigator for University of Miami and director of the Coral Reef Futures Lab. “By testing these Flonduran and Floridian corals side-by-side on different reefs, we can begin to identify suitable source populations for future breeding efforts.”
Baker’s team developed the hybrids to test whether introducing new Caribbean genetics could improve the long-term resilience of Florida’s remaining elkhorn populations. Scientists will revisit the corals every six months to measure growth, survival and overall health of the young corals while comparing the hybrids directly against Florida-only corals planted at the same sites as controls.
For Tela Marine co-founder Antal Borcsok, who first recognized the ecological importance of Tela Bay’s reefs roughly 15 years ago, the Flondurans represent something much larger than a single restoration project. He said, “I’m optimistic that finally we have gotten over the barriers of introducing coral genetics to other ecosystems; this type of assisted evolution has been done for millennia on land. We may also one day need to receive corals from other places as well. This may be the beginning of something very big.”
His optimism is echoed by Juli Berwald, Tela Coral’s co-founder and president, who connected Baker and Borcsok, launching the international collaboration.
Berwald told the Weekly, “I’m so thrilled that the Flondurans have been planted in the Dry Tortugas. It’s such an important step, not just for Florida, but also for the international collaboration necessary to support the health of the Caribbean’s coral reefs.”
“The Caribbean is one ocean comprising 37 countries, and each one is critical to corals’ future. If these Flondurans inherited the resilience of Tela’s elkhorns and thrive in the Dry Tortugas, then the possibilities for a vibrant future for elkhorns, and all the animals that rely on them for habitat, becomes a reality we can work toward.”
For now, the Flondurans remain an experiment. Whether they ultimately help reshape restoration across the Florida Reef Tract will take years to answer. But their existence on living reefs instead of only in laboratories marks a new chapter in coral restoration science and collaboration.
