[Coral-List] Dendrogyra

[William Precht]

The manuscript that started this thread on the coral- list was an
excellent, open-access manuscript by Neely et al.   Rapid Population
Decline of the Pillar Coral Dendrogyra cylindrus Along the Florida Reef
Tract <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.656515>

Front. Mar. Sci. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.656515

It should be read by all   There are two main punch lines.  The first is
that this species has been rendered functionally  extinct (extirpated)
throughout Florida.  The second is that the main cause was stony coral
tissue loss disease (SCTLD). This species is highly susceptible to this
emergent disease as are the three other genera in its family - the
Meandrinidae. All species in this family and are highly susceptible to
SCTLD.  On many reefs where the disease has run it course you can’t find a
single member of this family.  No Meandrina, no Dendrogyra, no Dichocoenia,
no Eusmilia.  So the story goes much further than just pillar coral.  We
may be looking at the loss of an entire coral family in a short window -
and this coral family is only extant in the Caribbean.

If this doesn’t serve as a wake-up call I don’t know what will.

Clearly losing more than 50% of the corals on the GBR due to mass bleaching
events in 2015-2016 did not cause a sea change in policy - not in Australia
- not globally. For most it’s been business as usual.

I’m getting sick and tired of writing and reading coral obituaries.  In my
40+ years of studying coral reefs I have watched my three favorite reefs
burn before my very eyes and the reefs that lie at the door step of where I
live are suffering the same fate.

The coral-list has a voice of 10,000 people that love coral reefs - let’s
use that voice to make a difference.  Time really is running out.

Bill



On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 9:38 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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>
-- 
William F. Precht

 “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice
you have”

Bob Marley


"Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't
have the strength."

Theodore Roosevelt