The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coral Reef Ecosystems Studies (CREST) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/crest/) provides science that helps Department of Interior and other resource managers tasked with the stewardship of coral reef resources. This data release contains data on coral physiology of the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, grown at five sites along the Florida outer reef tract including in Biscayne National Park, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and Dry Tortugas National Park, from summer 2017 to autumn 2020. The data will be used to inform resource managers of the capacity for restoration and growth of this important, habitat-forming species of coral within U.S. waters. Some datasets included here were interpreted in Chapron and others (2023b). Chapron, L., Kuffner, I.B., Kemp, D.W., Hulver, A.M., Keister, E.F., Stathakopoulos, A., Bartlett, L.A., Lyons, E.O., and Grottoli, A.G., 2023, Heterotrophy, microbiome, and location effects on restoration efficacy of the threatened coral Acropora palmata: Communications Earth and Environment, vol. 4, art. 233, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00888-1.