[Coral-List] Dendrogyra

[Douglas Fenner]

Well said!  This species is more phylogenetically unique than most, the
only member of its genus, and in a small family.  Same is true with the
Ctenella chagius coral in Chagos in the Indian Ocean that is in a similar
situation.  Both of these species are listed as EDGE species
"Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered" by the London Zoological
Society.  https://www.edgeofexistence.org/
They say that pillar coral has "conservation attention: very low."  That is
relative to other endangered species.
https://www.edgeofexistence.org/species/species-category/focal-species/search-species/Dendrogyra/

The fundamental problem with extinction is that it is irreversible.  If
methods to reverse it are ever developed, they are likely to be way too
expensive to apply to most species.  Are we ready to permanently lose this
species?

I ask, are Giant Pandas, rhinoceros, and Siberian tigers common or critical
for their ecosystems?  Yet they are among the endangered species that are
most charismatic, and receive the most attention and efforts to keep them
from going extinct.  And they do deserve it, they are fabulous.  So is
pillar coral.

We really don't want this sort of thing to start happening to other coral
species, but we're sitting on railroad tracks with a train coming full
speed towards us.  These corals are canaries in the mine, the warning of
what will come if we don't fix the problems.

Cheers, Doug

On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 2:36 PM Peter Sale via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> Hi listers,
> I've been following the comments re the essential extirpation of
> Dendrogyra  in Florida waters.  The fact that this is not a major reef
> builder (Gene is correct) is beside the point from my perspective.  Here is
> a monotypic species that looks like it may be on the way out throughout its
> range, and certainly in a large portion of it.  (I'm being pessimistic but
> perhaps realistic in predicting total extinction.)  The biodiversity loss
> is great.  This is a coral (and I am definitely NOT a coral expert) that is
> phenotypically quite distinctive.  It has one of, if not the most
> well-connected nerve nets leading to a conspicuous flash when all the
> polyps retract in unison following a disturbance.  God only knows what
> other special skills it has tucked amongst its tentacles.  From an
> evolutionary point of view, its loss is a greater loss than the loss of
> many other coral species.  My fear is that we are going to have to become
> used to such losses.  Let's a) strive not to let the losses becom
>  e un-noticed and routine, and b) use such losses to highlight, and make
> 'personal', what it means for a reef to gradually lose its species and
> cease to be a reef.  Getting people to relate to what is happening, to
> actually feel what is happening, may be the only way to rescue humanity
> from turning the planet into a wasteland, starting with the reefs.
>
> Peter Sale
> www.petersalebooks.com<http://www.petersalebooks.com>
> @PeterSale3
>
> See my latest book at
> https://www.amazon.com/Coral-Reefs-Majestic-Realms-under/dp/0300253834/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=coral+reefs+peter+sale&qid=1622149307&sr=8-1
>
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