For 16 years, scientists wondered just what had happened with corals in the Florida Keys. In this time period, over half of the corals had perished. They later discovered that the greatest decline was in elkhorn coral. Finally, research showed that the massive coral disappearances were caused by a disease by the name of white pox. The scientists have solved the elkhorn coral mystery using the scientific method - by making observations, conducting experiments, and drawing conclusions. Initially, researchers made several observations on why the disease had affected elkhorn coral. They concluded that these coral were missing and that it was largely due to the outbreak of white pox. They had also found that over 90 percent of the coral had vanished
