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November 6, 2025
NEW Publication: Octocoral Dynamics Over a Decade on Florida’s Coral Reef
NEW Publication: Octocoral Dynamics Over a Decade on Florida’s Coral Reef
Florida's Coral Reefs is changing. While the hard, stony corals that build reef structures have been declining, soft corals called octocorals—including the colorful sea fans, sea whips, and sea rods—are becoming increasingly dominant across Florida's reefs.
October 28, 2025
NEW Publication: Critically Endangered Caribbean Brain Coral Revealed as Two Distinct Lineages
NEW Publication: Critically Endangered Caribbean Brain Coral Revealed as Two Distinct Lineages
Scientists discovered that what was long thought to be a single species of Caribbean brain coral is actually two hidden types that look the same but reproduce in different seasons.
October 22, 2025
NCRI Researchers Document Unusual Coral Bleaching Event on Florida's Coral Reef
NCRI Researchers Document Unusual Coral Bleaching Event on Florida's Coral Reef
NCRI researchers have documented a troubling coral bleaching event off Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach, affecting typically resilient octocorals and signaling potentially significant changes in South Florida’s reef ecosystems due to elevated ocean temperatures.
October 8, 2025
NEW Publication: Ecological Winners and Losers in a Highly Disturbed Coral Reef System
NEW Publication: Ecological Winners and Losers in a Highly Disturbed Coral Reef System
New research explores how repeated disturbances over the past 20 years have transformed southeast Florida’s coral reefs - revealing a shift towards more resilient but less structurally complex communities.
September 18, 2025
NEW Publication: Status of Florida’s Pillar Coral Population
NEW Publication: Status of Florida’s Pillar Coral Population
Florida’s population of pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) has suffered catastrophic declines due to stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), with only a small, fragmented group of colonies remaining. Ongoing rescue and propagation efforts have shown promising signs of growth and reproduction, offering hope for the species’ long-term recovery despite its current instability.
September 3, 2025
NEW Publication: Biodegradable Straws and Marine Microbes
NEW Publication: Biodegradable Straws and Marine Microbes
Researchers at NSU and the Broward Reef Discovery Center conducted the first biophysical study of biodegradable PHA straws, revealing how specific marine bacteria and straw geometry influence their natural breakdown and potential use in reef restoration.
July 16, 2025
REPORT: How Inland Waters Shape Coral Reef Health in Southeast Florida
REPORT: How Inland Waters Shape Coral Reef Health in Southeast Florida
A newly published report shows how inland water sources in Southeast Florida are hydrologically connected to Florida's Coral Reef - influencing nutrient levels, bleaching, and disease patterns. Find full report and podcast linked below!
July 8, 2025
NEW Publication: Giant barrel sponge sequenced
NEW Publication: Giant barrel sponge sequenced
The first chromosomal level whole nuclear genome of the giant barrel sponge, Xestospongia muta, and its microbial cohort, has now been published!
April 23, 2025
NEW Publication: Coral resilience in highly urbanized environments
NEW Publication: Coral resilience in highly urbanized environments
Research shows that some corals in the heavily urbanized Port Everglades exhibit unexpectedly high fertility and nutritional adaptability, outperforming counterparts in less degraded environments. Despite elevated pollution and turbidity, these corals demonstrate remarkable resilience, suggesting their potential role in sustaining coral populations!
March 13, 2025
NEW Publication: Too hot to handle? The impact of the 2023 marine heatwave on Florida Keys coral
NEW Publication: Too hot to handle? The impact of the 2023 marine heatwave on Florida Keys coral
Researchers tracking over 4,200 brain and boulder corals during the unprecedented 2023 Florida Keys heatwave found that, despite predictions of widespread mortality, most survived, with boulder corals proving the most thermally resilient.
March 3, 2025
NEW Publication: How low oxygen impacts coral reef ecosystems
NEW Publication: How low oxygen impacts coral reef ecosystems
This project simulated moderately low-oxygen conditions, above what are the likely thresholds for coral mortality to occur to measure the nonlethal effects of low oxygen on different coral species.
January 30, 2025
Dr. Joana Figueiredo Appointed as NCRI Executive Director
Dr. Joana Figueiredo Appointed as NCRI Executive Director
NCRI is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Joana Figueiredo as the new NCRI Executive Director. She brings with her over a decade of experience in coral sexual reproduction, larval ecology and recruitment, restoration, climate change, and connectivity.
November 9, 2024
NCRI Featured in CBS News Piece on Coastal Resilience
NCRI Featured in CBS News Piece on Coastal Resilience
The National Coral Reef Institute was featured on Saturday, Nov. 9, in a CBS News feature about coastal resilience.
CBS interviewed NCRI Administrative Director Wendy Wood-Derrer, who explained how NSU’s Oceanographic Campus is home to coral reef research and preservation efforts and how critical the world’s reefs are to ecological sustainability.
February 14, 2023
Nova Southeastern University awarded millions for coral reef research
Nova Southeastern University awarded millions for coral reef research
Nova Southeastern University, home of the National Coral Reef Institute, received a federal earmark to conduct research on Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease and related coral reef stressors affecting Florida's Coral Reef.
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