Yes - Coral calcification rates have decreased in the last twenty-five years!

Outermost bands of corals were under-estimated in De'ath et al. (2009), and we have identified the cause of this problem as incomplete formation of some of the outermost bands. Correcting for this problem reduces our previous estimate of the decline in calcification over the period 1990-2005 from 142% to 11.4%. The claim that ontogenic effects account for part of the observed decline in calcification is false since (1) the hypothesised ontogenic effect was not present in colonies pre-1985, and (2) the decline in calcification is observable in the short cores that largely determine the decline, and are not subject to ontogenic effects. The adjusted decline of 11.4% (0.76% yr(-1)) remains high and suggests a bleak future for corals of the GBR due to climate change. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.