From the South Florida Sun Sentinel

The Trump administration has cut jobs and funding for scientific research and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate monitoring, which together have led a global effort to reverse the ongoing, rapid and devasting losses of marine habitats, including coral reefs. As a marine scientist, I am particularly concerned about the future of U.S. coral reefs when science and management budgets are cut even as sustained funding is desparately needed, now more than ever, to study, protect and rebuild these habitats.

Starting in the 1980s, American coral reefs first succumbed to massive disease outbreaks, and then to bleaching and mortality events driven by climate change. These two factors, as well as others like pollution, caused loss of more than 50% of coral species, with many of the U.S.’s once abundant corals now on the endangered species list. This means that reefs are in peril now.

Keep reading at South Florida Sun Sentinel