In 2006 the US federal government designated elkhorn and staghorn corals as threatened species, making it illegal to harm them, after years of declines due to bleaching, disease and hurricane damage.

The staghorn growths seem to appear wherever the water is shallow enough to let in enough sunlight, up to a depth of about 40 feet, said Ken Banks, a biologist with the Broward County Department of Environmental Protection and Growth Management.

The reefs generate billions of dollars in revenue from fishing, diving and snorkeling. But Banks said we shouldn't assess the importance of protecting them simply in terms of what they do for people.

Staghorn coral is found throughout the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean islands. This coral occurs in the western Gulf of Mexico, but is absent from U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Bermuda and the west coast of South America. The northern limit is on the east coast of Florida, near Boca Raton.