[Coral-List] NOAA Finds 66 Corals Warrant Listing under the US Endangered Species Act

Tue Dec 4 16:14:19 EST 2012

Samples of the deep water putative Anacropora samples from Hawaii that Zac
refers to me were sent to me before I published my book on Corals of
Hawaii.  When I first saw them, I was sure they were Anacropora.  Several
other people have thought they were Anacropora as well.  They have thin
cylindrical branches, with no axial corallite and a small rounded bump
under each corallite.  After a while, I set them side by side with
Anacropora from Charlie Veron's collection at AIMS in Australia.  The
difference was clear.  The Anacropora had smaller corallites and a finer
coenosteum (which can be seen in the photos of Anacropora skeleton in
Veron's Corals of the World, 2000, but even better in Scleractinia of
Eastern Australia 1984 by Veron and Wallace).  Then somehow I got in
contact with Rick Grigg, who said he had seen colonies with these branches
in Hawaii that had an encrusting base that he identified as Montipora
capitata.  Anacropora generally has finer features including smaller
corallites than Montipora, though there is certainly variation in
Montipora.  Veron wrote that Anacropora is essentially Montipora without an
encrusting base.  However, there are several species of Montipora that are
branching that I have never seen an encrusting base on (maybe there were
small areas of base hidden under the branches?).  In general, Anacropora
has thin cylindrical branches that have a small bump or spine under each
corallite, as well as the small corallites and fine coenosteium and
 usually they are fairly easy to distinguish from Montipora.  Veron has now
described a species of Anacropora from the Red Sea (Anacropora spumosa)
that has somewhat more coarse features than the other Anacropora.  There is
a picture of the living Hawaiian coral and my explanation on page 199 on my
Corals of Hawaii book.
      Anyhow, IF the Hawaiian coral is indeed Montipora capitata, then it
certainly should have the same mitochondrial haplotype as Montipora
capitata.  Better to test the phylogeny with coral that is clearly
Anacropora.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if Anacropora should turn out
to be a branch on the Montipora tree.
      Cheers,  Doug

Fenner, D.  2005.  Corals of Hawai'i, A Field Guide to the Hard, Black and
Soft Corals of Hawai'i and the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, including Midway..
Mutual Publishing, Honolulu.  143 pages

On Tue, Dec 4, 2012 at 8:58 AM, Zac Forsman <zforsman at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear all,
>   I don't think it is settled yet, but molecular markers place Anacropora
> in a polyphyletic complex within Montipora.  I was provided some deep water
> putative Anacropora samples from Hawaii and they had the exact same
> mitochondrial haplotype as Montipora capitata (Forsman et al. 2010).  This
> confirmed studies by Fukami et al. (2000) and Wallace et al. (2007).  I
> think additional studies are needed on Anacropora to determine the validity
> of the genus.  -Zac
>
>
> Forsman ZH, Concepcion GT, Haverkort RD, Shaw RW, Maragos JE, Toonen RJ
> (2010) Ecomorph or Endangered Coral? DNA and Microstructure Reveal Hawaiian
> Species Complexes: Montipora dilatata/flabellata/turgescens & M.
> patula/verrilli. PLoS ONE 5:e15021
>
> Fukami H, Omori M, Hatta M (2000) Phylogenetic relationships in the coral
> family acroporidae, reassessed by inference from mitochondrial genes.
> Zoological science 17:689–96
>
> Wallace CC, Chen CA, Fukami H, Muir PR (2007) Recognition of separate
> genera within Acropora based on new morphological, reproductive and genetic
> evidence from Acropora togianensis, and elevation of the subgenus Isopora
> Studer, 1878 to genus (Scleractinia: Astrocoeniidae; Acroporidae). Coral
> Reefs 26:231–239
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 12:09 PM, Douglas Fenner <
> douglasfennertassi at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>    To my knowledge, Anacropora is still a valid genus.
>>    Acropora palifera, A. cuneata, A. crateriformis, and A. togianensis
>> were
>> raised from Acropora subgenus Isopora, to genus Isopora, so Isopora was
>> raised from a subgenus of Acropora to a genus of its own.  By a paper by
>> Carden Wallace et al.  I thought the evidence for that was good and have
>> adopted it.  Presumably includes A. elizabethensis and A. cylindrica if
>> one
>> recognizes them, they were named in the Veron 2000 book (Carden hasn't
>> weighed in on that yet as far as I know).
>>       Veron wrote that Anacropora is essentially branching Montipora
>> without an encrusting base, but most species have finer features (smaller
>> corallites, finer coenosteum) than Montipora, though Veron has now
>> described one Anacropora from the Red Sea with coarser features.  I think
>> I
>> remember some paper that reported that Anacropora was located within the
>> Montipora tree in a genetics study.  Which is reasonable given the
>> definition.  There are some Montipora that are branching which I've never
>> seen any base on.  But Anacropora produces cylindrical branches, tips
>> taper
>> to a point (which can be rounded) and there are usually small mounds or
>> spines under the corallites.  Those things are different form the
>> branching
>> Montipora, which usually also have rougher branches.
>>
>>      Cheers,  Doug
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 6:30 AM, Delbeek, Charles <CDelbeek at calacademy.org
>> >wrote:
>>
>> > I believe Anacropora is no longer a valid genus, so that listing would
>> > have to be changed if true.
>> >
>> > J. Charles Delbeek, M.Sc.
>> > Assistant Curator, Steinhart Aquarium
>> > California Academy of Sciences
>> >
>> > p 415.379.5303
>> > f. 415.379.5304
>> > cdelbeek at calacademy.org
>> > www.calacademy.org
>> >
>> > 55 Music Concourse Drive
>> > Golden Gate Park
>> > San Francisco, CA 94118
>> >
>> > Facebook | Twitter
>> >
>> > 'Tis the Season for Science - Now through January 6.
>> > Meet live reindeer, experience indoor snow flurries,
>> > and learn how animals adapt to winter.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:
>> > coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Jennifer Moore -
>> > NOAA Federal
>> > Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 10:06 AM
>> > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > Subject: [Coral-List] NOAA Finds 66 Corals Warrant Listing under the US
>> > Endangered Species Act
>> >
>> > Today, NOAA announced that we are proposing to list 66 reef-building
>> coral
>> > species under the US Endangered Species Act, including 59 species in the
>> > Indo-Pacific and seven in the Caribbean. Additionally, we are proposing
>> > that the two Caribbean coral species (Acropora palmata and Acropora
>> > cervicornis) currently listed should be reclassification from
>> threatened to
>> > endangered.  We are also holding 18 public hearings on the proposal
>> during
>> > our 90-day public comment period to continue to encourage public
>> engagement
>> > before we make a final decision. Specific details on the proposed
>> listings
>> > and all of the documents associated with our finding will be available
>> > online after 1:00 pm EST at:
>> > http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2012/11/82corals.html.
>> >
>> > NOAA's proposal to list these coral species is based on the best
>> available
>> > scientific information. To recap, in 2009, NOAA received petition to
>> list
>> > 83 species of reef-building corals under the ESA from the Center for
>> > Biological Diversity. On February 10, 2010, NOAA found that the Center
>> > presented substantial information indicating that listing under the ESA
>> may
>> > be warranted for 82 of the 83 petitioned species. Following the initial
>> > finding, NOAA convened a Biological Review Team to initiate a formal
>> status
>> > review of the 82 species. The result was a *Status Review Report*,
>> released
>> > in April 2012. The peer-reviewed report incorporated and summarized the
>> > best available scientific and commercial data to date. The agency also
>> > conducted a public engagement process between April and July 2012 to
>> gather
>> > additional scientific information, allow time for a public review of the
>> > Status Review and Draft Management Reports, and to further engage the
>> > public. All relevant information gathered was summarized in a new
>> > Supplemental Information Report.  Together, the Status Review,
>> Supplemental
>> > Information, and Final Management reports form the basis of our proposed
>> > listing.
>> >
>> > If you want more information on our proposed listing,please view the
>> > extensive information available
>> > online<http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2012/11/82corals.html>,
>> > attend one of the public hearings in early 2013, or contact one of our
>> > experts. We look forward to continuing the public engagement process we
>> > began three years ago when this process started.
>> >
>> > --
>> >
>> > *Jennifer Moore
>> > ESA Coral Coordinator | Protected Resources Division
>> > NOAA Fisheries Service
>> > 263 13th Ave South
>> > Saint Petersburg, FL 33701727-551-5797 phone | 727-824-5309
>> > faxjennifer.moore at noaa.gov
>> > http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/acropora.htm*
>> >
>> > *http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/82CoralSpecies.htm*
>> > <http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/82CoralSpecies.htm>*
>> >
>> > To those who sacrificed careers of adventure in the wide-open spaces
>> > to wrestle for conservation in the policy arena.*
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Coral-List mailing list
>> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Coral-List mailing list
>> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dept. Marine & Wildlife Resources, American Samoan Government
>> PO Box 7390
>> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Zac H. Forsman,  Ph.D.
> Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology -
> Papahānaumokuākea Marine National
> Monument Postdoctoral Fellow
>
> Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
> P.O. Box 1346 (regular post)
> 46-007 Lilipuna Rd. (FedEx or other shipping)
> Kaneohe, HI 96744
> 808-236-7428 (ph)
> 808-236-7443 (fax)
>
>

-- 
Dept. Marine & Wildlife Resources, American Samoan Government
PO Box 7390
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA