A climate-change fueled marine heat wave in 2023 drove elkhorn and staghorn corals “functionally extinct” in Florida’s reef, which stretches from Miami to beyond Key West.
The idea of extinction — the permanent loss of life — is frightening. Yet the stakes of losing plants and animals are often unclear. If an already-rare bird vanishes from the forest, most people probably won’t feel the impact.
But a troubling situati... [5806 chars]