A wave breaks over a degraded reef crest at Buck Island in St. Croix

A wave breaking over a degraded reef crest at Buck Island National Monument in St. Croix. Wave-breaking in these habitats relies on reef framework built by the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, which is now a threatened species throughout the western Atlantic. Without the structure these corals provide, the ability of reefs to protect coastal communities may be in jeopardy.