[Coral-List] Endangered Species Act review of Pocillopora meandrina

[Lance W Smith]

The National Marine Fisheries Service has published a positive 90-day
finding in the Federal Register in response to a petition to list the reef
coral *Pocillopora meandrina* under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). A
positive 90-day finding means that we are commencing a range-wide status
review of the species to determine whether it should be proposed for
listing under the ESA. Based on the status review, a 12-month finding will
be published that either determines the species to be “not warranted” for
listing under the ESA, or proposes that the species be listed.



A 60-day public comment period will be open through November 19, 2018 to
solicit information on the status of *P. meandrina* to help inform the
status review. The 90-day finding is available in the Federal Register here
<https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/20/2018-20512/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-positive-90-day-finding-on-a-petition-to-list-the-cauliflower>,
and public comments can be submitted at Regulations.gov here
<http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0060>.



The following is background information on this 90-day finding:



On March 14, 2018, we received a petition from the Center for Biological
Diversity to list *P. meandrina* in Hawaii under the ESA. The petition
requests that the Hawaii portion of *P. meandrina*’s range be considered a
significant portion of its range (SPR). However, before undergoing an
analysis of SPR, we must first find that the species is neither endangered
nor threatened throughout all of its range, thus we interpret the petition
as a request to consider the status of *P. meandrina* throughout its range
first.



*Pocillopora meandrina* is typically found on shallow reefs exposed to
strong wave action. It occurs on most coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific and
eastern Pacific, with a range extending from the Seychelles Islands in the
Indian Ocean to the west coast of Central America in the eastern Pacific.
The species is found in all U.S. Pacific Islands jurisdictions, including
Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American
Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Islands Area.



The frequency, intensity, and magnitude of warming-induced mass coral
bleaching events has rapidly increased since the early 1980s, resulting in
massive mortalities of many reef coral species, including *P. meandrina*.
In 2016, the worst mass coral bleaching on record occurred, affecting many
reef coral species, including *P. meandrina*. Projections of ocean warming
and subsequent warming-induced mass coral bleaching in the foreseeable
future (from now to 2100) strongly suggest that bleaching events will
continue to worsen in frequency, intensity, and magnitude, likely resulting
in continued and increasing mortalities of many reef corals such as *P.
meandrina*. Ocean warming is just one of many threats affecting *P.
meandrina* – other major threats include ocean acidification, habitat loss,
disease, and the trophic effects of fishing.