The Center for Biological Diversity has recently filed a petition to have 83 coral species found in U.S. waters placed on the endangered species list. The 191-page long petition was sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as the director of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, abbreviated NOAA, and contains everything from the biology to abundance of the corals species listed below.
Acanthastrea brevis
Acanthastrea hemprichii
Acanthastrea ishigakiensis
Acanthastrea regularis
Acropora aculeus
Acropora acuminata
Acropora aspera
Acropora dendrum
Acropora donei
Acropora globiceps
Acropora horrida
Acropora jacquelineae
Acropora listeri
Acropora lokani
Acropora microclados
Acropora palmerae
Acropora paniculata
Acropora pharaonis
Acropora polystoma
Acropora retusa
Acropora rudis
Acropora speciosa
Acropora striata
Acropora tenella
Acropora vaughani
Acropora verweyi
Agaricia lamarcki
Alveopora allingi
Alveopora fenestrata
Alveopora verrilliana
Anacropora puertogalerae
Anacropora spinosa
Astreopora cucullata
Barabattoia laddi
Caulastrea echinulata
Cyphastrea agassizi
Cyphastrea ocellina
Dendrogyra cylindrus
Dichocoenia stokesii
Euphyllia cristata
Euphyllia paraancora
Euphyllia paradivisa
Galaxea astreata
Heliopora coerulea
Isopora crateriformis
Isopora cuneata
Leptoseris incrustans
Leptoseris yabei
Millepora foveolata
Millepora tuberosa
Montastraea annularis
Montastraea faveolata
Montastraea franksi
Montipora angulata
Montipora australiensis
Montipora calcarea
Montipora caliculata
Montipora dilatata
Montipora flabellata
Montipora lobulata
Montipora patula
Mycetophyllia ferox
Oculina varicosa
Pachyseris rugosa
Pavona bipartita
Pavona cactus
Pavona decussata
Pavona diffluens
Pavona venosa
Pectinia alcicornis
Physogyra lichtensteini
Pocillopora danae
Pocillopora elegans
Porites horizontalata
Porites napopora
Porites nigrescens
Porites pukoensis
Psammocora stellata
Seriatopora aculeata
Turbinaria mesenterina
Turbinaria peltata
Turbinaria reniformis
Turbinaria stellula
And here is a little snippet of the petition that summarizes why these corals should be placed on the endangered species list:
This petition seeks to list 83 species of corals which are designated as threatened with extinction by the IUCN and which occur in United States waters and thus stand to benefit most from listing under the US Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). All of the petitioned species have suffered population reductions of at least 30% over a 30-year period (Carpenter et al. 2008). The declines of the petitioned coral species to date have been linked to numerous major threats, including mass bleaching events; major disease and predation outbreaks; destructive fishing practices and chronic overharvest of corals, reef fish, and other associated species; and pollution, sedimentation, and physical damage due to human land and sea uses, which are intensifying with the recent and ongoing explosions in human population growth and marine vessel traffic. Anthropogenic climate change and ocean acidification pose the most serious short- and long-term threats to the survival of the petitioned corals.
To read the full petition, please visit PETITION TO LIST 83 CORAL SPECIES UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
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