NEW Publication: Status of Florida’s Pillar Coral Population

September 18, 2025

Dr. Karen Neely

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.

Pillar coral is an iconic Caribbean reef species. It was declared “functionally extinct” in 2020 due to a precipitous decline in population. This publication shows that the depleted population has continued to crash, with an additional 96% loss in tissue from 2021-2025, primarily from stony coral tissue loss disease. There are now only 23 individuals remaining in Florida, most of them with live tissue smaller than a tennis ball. Fortunately, the rescue of pillar coral fragments starting in 2015 and held at various restoration facilities has preserved the genetic diversity of this species and also created new generations of individuals through propagation efforts. The pillar coral is also protected as an Endangered species by the Federal Endangered Species Act and as a Federally-designated Endangered species by Florida's Endangered and Threatened Species rule. 

The new publication documents continually improving growth rates of rescued individuals and reports that juveniles produced via spawning were capable of reproducing at six years of age. It is hoped that one day these efforts may allow the return of this species to Florida’s Coral Reef.