Elkhorn Coral Mystery

The Elkhorn Coral Mystery" How did scientist solve the Elkhorn Coral mystery by using the scientific method? They solved the mystery by using the step Observing. The second step that was used was conducting experiments. Finally, the last step used in this mystery was sharing their findings. These Scientific Method steps helped solve the Elkhorn Coral mystery.

The first Scientific Method step used was observing. In paragraph 2 in"Coral killer on the loose" it states, "“Between 1996 and 2012, more than half of all corals in the Florida Keys alone had died,” says Porter". This means that Scientist observed that the corals were dying because more than half died alone. In paragraph 2 of "Coral killer on the loose" it states,"The species has disappeared from more than 90 percent of its former habitat". This means that 90% of coral had died from its habitat because of human waste.

The second Scientific Method step used was conducting experiments. In paragraph 2 of "The

In paragraph 1 of "Investigators on the scene" it states “The final piece of the puzzle,” says Porter, “was to determine whether it was pathogenic to corals.” This means that they were determining whether if the waster was pathogenic to corals. Also in paragraph 4 of "Investigators on the case" it states “Within five days, the human strain caused the disease in elkhorn coral,” says Sutherland. “We then had definitive evidence that people were the source of the pathogen.” To me this means that they were recording data so they would know what was causing the disease to the Elkhorn Coral.

In Conclusion, these three steps helped solve the Elkhorn Coral mystery. It was the human waste that was harming these corals which was causing them to die. The Scientific Method is what helped me comprehend what was harming these corals. The Scientific Method helped scientist have definite evidence that people were the source of the