Incredibly, 94 percent of this extra heat is going into the oceans, and it’s not just coral reefs that are being affected. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Food, jobs, tourism revenue, recreation and buffers from coastal storms are just some of the value coastal communities get from healthy reefs. I grew up in South Florida in the 1970s, when the reefs of the Florida Keys were still relatively healthy. This species and closely related staghorn corals had dominated Caribbean coral reefs for at least 5,000 years.

Source: New York Times July 06, 2017 19:41 UTC