Coral City Camera – World Record Underwater Coral Growth Timelapse *3 Years* (5.1.23-5.1.26)
On this World Oceans Day we are proud to unveil the latest extension of the world’s longest underwater timelapse, starting May 1, 2023, and running for three years through May 1, 2026. This period covers summer 2023’s unprecedented coral bleaching mortality event, and indeed multiple corals can be seen bleaching, but then recovering and growing through 2024 and 2025 into 2026.
Of greatest interest to us is the success and proliferation of the urban strain of staghorn coral native to PortMiami (Acropora cervicornis aka ACER ‘Ventura’). Not only has it not bleached yet, but it has also proliferated extremely fast. In just four years, a single branch of ACER ‘Ventura’ has increased thousands of times in biomass, to the point that we now have one of the densest thickets of this endangered coral in the State of Florida (in the Intercoastal Waterway no less)!
Over the past year, these corals have endured significant temperature extremes. With our new Aqualink buoy, we recorded late summer temps reaching 90F (32.6C) and 2026 winter lows of 60F (15.5C). This represents a huge range of thermal tolerance for this strain of critically important reefbuilding coral, and a reminder that corals grown for nearshore reef restoration in Florida need cold-stress adaptation as well as heat-stress.
Working with our partners at NOAA AOML and University of Miami’s Rescue a Reef, we continue our scientific investigation into the mechanisms of the strain’s resilience, and continue to amplify it for the purpose of restoring Miami’s nearshore reefs.
Of particular interest is observing how dynamic the sediment is at the site. PortMiami is subject to intense currents, magnified by passing ships displacing huge volumes of water. Despite these unnatural conditions, the corals and fish have adapted well to this anthropogenic environment.
Our ability to timelapse the growth of PortMiami’s urban corals highlights the scientific value of the Coral City Camera and its ability to document what was previously undocumented. After 6 years of near-continuous recording and cataloging 220 fish species, no underwater coral reef site anywhere in the world has been as thoroughly recorded and archived.
If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation to support the Coral City Camera and our ongoing work studying and protecting Miami’s urban corals you can do so here via our fund at the Key Biscayne Community Foundation @ https://www.kbcf.org/