In addition, P. meandrina can be one of the most common corals found on artificial substrates, such as concrete structures and metal buoys. 2011, 2016) and LBSP (Fabricius 2011, Wooldridge 2016). Even if a few million colonies are collected annually, that is still relatively small compared to the tens of billions of colonies in P. meandrina' s total population, thus exposure to collection and trade is considered to be low (Smith 2019b). Reef-building corals are marine invertebrates in the phylum Cnidaria that occur as polyps, usually forming colonies of many clonal polyps on a calcium carbonate skeleton. All threats are projected to worsen throughout the foreseeable future (Smith 2019a,b), based on the scientific literature, climate change models, and other information such as human population trends in the Indo-Pacific. The IPCC does not attach likelihoods to the pathways. Previous international agreements on reducing GHGs, such as the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, have not been effective at controlling global GHG emissions, as shown by the increase in global GHG emissions over the past decades. Therefore, we consider SPR C's diversity to be high and stable (Table 4). We consider the current vulnerability of P. meandrina to sea-level rise to be low, based on low susceptibility combined with highly variable exposure. In the three ecoregions for which time-series abundance data or information are available for SPR C, abundance appears to be decreasing in one ecoregion (Marianas Islands) and stable in two ecoregions (GBR Far North, GBR North-central; Smith 2019b, Table 4; NMFS 2020b). We expect vulnerability of P. meandrina to fishing to increase throughout the foreseeable future as the human population and fishing pressure increase (Smith 2019a,b). T Hydrozoa. WebOne in five of the worlds invertebrate species are threatened with extinction, according to the latest report from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Phenotypic diversity is defined as the numbers of phenotypes present in a population, and is affected by both genotype and environmental factors (Smith 2019b). Therefore, SPR A is significant to the viability of P. meandrina and qualifies as an SPR. The most important factors influencing P. meandrina' s productivity (reproduction, dispersal, recruitment, Start Printed Page 40488growth, and adaptability) provide a qualitative indication of its productivity. WebSearch. 2017). We also considered information submitted by the public in response to our 90-day finding (83 FR 47592; September 20, 2018). 2019). In addition, the population's distribution has not been reduced (Smith 2019b, Section 3.1). The final ratings were completed in October 2019. Like many branching coral species, P. meandrina has high skeletal growth rates relative to most other Indo-Pacific reef-building coral species (Jokiel and Tyler 1992). Thus, in the context of the ESA, the Services interpret an endangered species to be one that is presently at risk of extinction. Details about these five categories of regulatory mechanisms for the Start Printed Page 40493management of local threats are provided in the GSA (Smith 2019a). More information about P. meandrina' s reproduction, dispersal, recruitment, and growth is provided in the Productivity portion of the Demographic Factors section, and in the SRR (Smith 2019b). Not to be confused with Cnidrion, an enemy that spawns in the Desert. We consider the current vulnerability of P. meandrina to coral disease to be low, based on low susceptibility combined with highly variable exposure. In order to determine the extinction risk of species being considered for ESA listing, NMFS uses a demographic risk analysis framework that considers the four demographic factors of distribution, abundance, productivity, and diversity (NMFS 2017). We expect vulnerability of P. meandrina to predation to increase throughout the foreseeable future as LBSP, fishing, and other threats increase, because these threats generally produce conditions that favor predators (Smith 2019a,b). Therefore, P. meandrina is not warranted for listing as endangered or threatened under the ESA at this time based on its status within SPR A. SPR B can be characterized as a population with strong demographic factors facing broad and worsening threats: it has a large and stable distribution, high overall abundance but unknown overall abundance trend, high and stable productivity, and high and stable diversity (Table 4). We expect vulnerability of P. meandrina to LBSP to increase throughout the foreseeable future as the human population and coastal development increase (Smith 2019a,b). Thus, we conclude that current regulatory mechanisms are ineffective at reducing the impacts of local threats to Indo-Pacific reef-building corals including P. meandrina (Smith 2019a,b). Under the ESA, the physiological colony (Hughes 1984), defined as any colony of the species whether sexually or asexually produced, is considered an individual for reef-building colonial coral species such as P. meandrina (NMFS 2014). Federal Register provide legal notice to the public and judicial notice In addition, SPR D's distribution includes over 1,000 atolls and islands with small or no human populations (NMFS 2020b) where local threats are relatively low. Although P. meandrina is usually more common at depths of <5 m (16 ft) than in deeper areas, its depth range is from the surface to at least 34 m (112 ft). The vulnerabilities of P. meandrina to turbidity, sediment, nutrients, and contaminants are summarized here in terms of its susceptibility and exposure to this threat. The vulnerabilities of P. meandrina to each of the 10 threats were rated in the SRR, based on the species' susceptibility and exposure to each threat, for the foreseeable future assuming that RCP8.5 is the most likely future climate scenario (Smith 2019b, Table 6). Threat vulnerabilities were rated as: high for ocean warming and ocean acidification; Moderate for predation; Low to Moderate for fishing, land-based sources of pollution, and collection and trade; Low for sea-level rise, disease, and other threats (global); Very Low to Low for other threats (local), and Unknown for interactions of threats. Furthermore, the population's distribution has not been reduced (Smith 2019b, Section 3.1). Although all threats are projected to worsen within SPR A's range over the foreseeable future (Smith 2019a,b; NMFS 2020a), the following characteristics of the population moderate its extinction risk, summarized from information in the SRR (Smith 2019b), NMFS (2020b), and the SPR A component of the Extinction Risk Assessments of the SPRs section above: (1) Its very large geographic distribution (68 ecoregions, 197,000 km2 of reef area; NMFS 2020b), broad depth distribution (0-30 m; NMFS 2020b), and wide habitat breadth (SRR, Section 2.4), provide SPR A high habitat heterogeneity (SRR, section 3.4), which creates patchiness of conditions across its range at any given time, thus many portions of its range are unaffected or lightly affected by any given threat; (2) its very high abundance (a few tens of billions of colonies; NMFS 2020b), together with high habitat heterogeneity, likely result in many billions of colonies surviving even the worst disturbances; (3) even when high mortality occurs, its high productivity provides the capacity for the affected populations to recover quickly, as has been documented at sites in the GBR (SRR, Section 3.2.3); (4) likewise, its high productivity provides the capacity for populations to recover relatively quickly from disturbances compared to more sensitive reef coral species, allowing SPR A to take over denuded substrates and to sometimes become more abundant after disturbances than before them, as has been documented at sites in the GBR (SRR, Section 3.3); (5) it recruits to artificial substrates more readily than most other Indo-Pacific reef corals, often dominating the coral communities on the metal, concrete, and PVC surfaces of seawalls, Fish Aggregation Devices, pipes, and other manmade structures (SRR, Section 3.3); (6) in other P. meandrina populations that suffered high mortality from warming-induced bleaching, subsequent warming resulted in less mortality (SRR, Section 4.1), suggesting the potential for acclimatization and adaptation in this population; and (7) adaptation may be enhanced by its high genotypic diversity (SRR, Section 3.3) and high dispersal (SRR, Section 3.4). That is, we expect its extinction risk to increase slightly from its current low level, to low to moderate in the foreseeable future, in response to worsening threats. Although there is little information available on the genotypic and phenotypic diversity of SPR D, its large distribution and high habitat heterogeneity suggest that both types of diversity are very high for this population. WebExtinction, a new book by Marc Schlossman, explores endangered and extinct species and the factors threatening them through a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of the most Phenotypic diversity can be maintained by spatial and temporal variation in habitat characteristics, because variable environmental factors result in the expression of different phenotypes. Because P. meandrina is currently at low risk of extinction throughout its range, it does not meet the definition of an endangered species, and is thus not warranted for listing as endangered at this time. should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official As described in the GSA (Smith 2019a), the available information regarding fishing and Indo-Pacific reef-building corals including P. meandrina leads to the following conclusions about this threat: (1) Direct effects of fishing, namely damage from fishing gears and methods used in food fish and marine aquarium fisheries, have been observed in much of the Indo-Pacific; (2) indirect effects, or the trophic effects of fishing, have not been observed in the Indo-Pacific as they have in the Caribbean; and (3) both direct and indirect effects of fishing are projected to increase in the Indo-Pacific throughout the foreseeable future (Smith 2019a). Key observed trends include Start Printed Page 40486increasing anthropogenic disturbances, decreasing recovery time, and decreasing live coral cover, while overall resilience remains high. The distribution of P. meandrina is larger than about two-thirds of Indo-Pacific reef-building coral species, and includes most coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific. As described in more detail in the GSA (Smith 2019a), GHGs are regulated through international agreements (e.g., the Paris Agreement, signed in 2016), and through statutes and regulations at the national, state, and local levels. As of 2019, Veron estimates that 758 species of reef-building corals occur in the Indo-Pacific, over 90 percent of the world's total (Corals of the World, http://www.coralsoftheworld.org,, November 2019). Community trends do not necessarily represent individual species trends, but they provide valuable context that inform investigations of the status of species within the community such as P. meandrina. The vulnerability of P. meandrina to sea level rise is summarized here in terms of its susceptibility and exposure to this threat, based on information in the SRR (Smith 2019b). The population's ecoregions extend from the western edge of the species' range in the western Indian Ocean to the central western portion of its range in the Pacific Ocean (NMFS 2020b). Generally, predator abundances and exposure are low most of the time on coral reefs, interspersed with brief periods of high abundances and subsequent high exposure. Currently, P. meandrina has high and stable productivity and diversity, a very large distribution, very high abundance, and stable (five ecoregions) or decreasing (five ecoregions) abundance in the 10 ecoregions for which abundance trend data or information are available. Within the range of P. meandrina, AR5 provides regional maps of projected annual warming for the eastern Pacific Ocean, the western Indian Ocean, the northern Indian Ocean, the Coral Triangle, northern Australia, and the tropical Pacific. Aside from SPRs A-D, no other portions of the range of P. meandrina considered were found to qualify as SPRs, based on the currently available best information, as presented in the SRR (Smith 2019b) and NMFS (2020b). Register documents. The other two major coral groups, Rugosa and Tabulata, went extinct at the end Permian Mass Extinction event (~251 million years ago). We consider the susceptibility of P. meandrina to sea level rise to be low. Therefore, SPR C is significant to the viability of P. meandrina and qualifies as an SPR. Vulnerabilities to all threats are expected to increase in the foreseeable future under RCP8.5 (Smith 2019b, Table 6). There is no evidence that either productivity or diversity have been reduced. Based on the 2011 SRR (Brainard et al. Autotrophic feeding is accomplished via symbiosis with unicellular photosynthetic algae living within the host coral's tissues (zooxanthellae). Corals can withstand mild to moderate bleaching; however, severe, repeated, or prolonged bleaching can lead to colony death (Smith 2019a). We expect vulnerabilities of P. meandrina to human-induced physical damage, invasive species, and changes in salinity to increase throughout the foreseeable future as human activities increase and climate change worsens (Smith 2019a,b). Thus, we consider P. meandrina' s productivity to be high. Millepora striata; Millepora tuberosa; Anthozoa. Unlike for global warming, AR5 does not include detailed regional comparisons of projected ocean acidification under the different RCPs. v. Jewell, 248 F. Supp. An analysis of the timing and extent of ocean acidification and ocean warming on the world's coral reefs under the three RCPs found that there would be progressively greater and earlier declines in calcification under RCPs 8.5, 6.0, and 4.5, respectively, over the 21st century. 2009). 1531 et seq.). These and other habitat features of Indo-Pacific reef-building corals are described in more detail in the GSA (Smith 2019a). In addition, typically more information is available on the status and trends of reef coral communities (e.g., live coral cover) than species-specific information. 2014, Putnam et al. According to Nature, the main threats for biodiversity on Earth are: Exploitation: 37 % (hunting, fishing). However, P. meandrina has strong demographic factors, with the possible exception of abundance. Reef-building corals like P. meandrina build reefs because they are sessile (the colony is attached to the substrate), secreting their own custom-made substrates which grow into skeletons, providing the primary building blocks for coral reef structure. Section 4(b)(1)(A) of the ESA requires that NMFS make listing determinations based solely on the best scientific and commercial data available after conducting a review of the status of the species and taking into account those efforts, if any, being made by any state or foreign nation, or political subdivisions thereof, to protect and conserve the species. The vulnerabilities of P. meandrina to each of the 10 threats were rated in the SRR, based on the species' susceptibility and exposure to each threat, over the foreseeable future assuming that RCP8.5 is the most likely future climate scenario (Smith 2019b, Table 6). Based on the available information, we cannot distinguish the likely responses of P. meandrina to projected ocean acidification under the three RCPs from one another because: (1) All three RCPs project worsening ocean acidification and reduced arg levels over the 21st century (NMFS 2020a, Fig. That is, these species are reef-building, but they are not reef-dependent, thus reef-building corals are not limited to shallow coral reefs (NMFS 2014). Species at Moderate extinction risk are on a trajectory that puts them at a high level of extinction risk in the foreseeable future, due to projected threats or declining trends in distribution, abundance, productivity, or diversity. The Foreseeable Future for Ocean Acidification and P. meandrina. WebA quarter of all species are threatened with extinction, according to a new report by the the UN with amphibians, sharks and conifers the most at risk. Acropora and Pocillopora species are among the most favored coral prey of COTS, and sharp reductions in populations of both genera in response to COTS outbreaks have been recorded across the Indo-Pacific (Pratchett et al. As described in the GSA (Smith 2019a), the available information regarding collection and trade of Indo-Pacific reef-building corals including P. meandrina leads to the following conclusions about this threat: (1) Collection and trade of Indo-Pacific reef-building corals has grown significantly in recent decades, along with the resulting detrimental effects to corals and their habitats; and (2) collection and trade, and their effects are projected to increase in much of the Indo-Pacific throughout the foreseeable future, although these effects may be partially offset by increases in mariculture (Smith 2019a). provide legal notice to the public or judicial notice to the courts. Crassophyllum thessalonicae; Actinaria. As described in the SRR (Smith 2019b), we consider P. meandrina' s vulnerability to ocean warming in the 21st century to be high, based on observed susceptibility to the ocean warming that has occurred over the past several decades, together with increasing exposure as the oceans continue to warm throughout the remainder of the century. The climate change components of the P. meandrina Status Review were based on the International Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis (AR5; IPCC 2013a), the IPCC's Global Warming of 1.5 C (1.5 Report; IPCC 2018), and other climate change literature cited in the GSA and SRR. Today, scientists think that there are less than 100,000 koalas left in the wild. We estimate P. meandrina' s total population to be at least several tens of billions of colonies (Smith 2019b, Section 3.2.2), and SPR A includes approximately 85 percent of the species' coral reef area (Table 4, NMFS 2020b). While abundance has declined in some ecoregions in recent years, the species' high productivity provides capacity for recovery. While broadly deteriorating conditions will likely result in a downward trajectory of SPR C's overall abundance in the foreseeable future, the demographic characteristics summarized above are expected to allow the population to at least partially recover from many disturbances, thereby slowing the downward trajectory. 2018). In the 10 ecoregions for which time-series abundance data or information are available, abundance appears to be decreasing in five ecoregions and stable in five ecoregions. 1533(a)(1). Despite declining abundance in some ecoregions, the species' abundance moderates extinction risk by providing tens of billions of colonies distributed across many ecoregions that can replenish reefs depleted by disturbance (Smith 2019b). Pocillopora meandrina reproduces both sexually and asexually. 2; NMFS 2020b). Although SPR D only consists of approximately 14 percent of the range of P. meandrina, it nevertheless covers approximately 32,000 km2 of reef area (Table 4), as well as extensive non-reef and mesophotic habitats, spread across the central Pacific, thus constituting a large distribution.

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