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(CN) – According to the initial study released Wednesday by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Hawaiian coral cauliflower is one step closer to federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Nicknamed coral cauliflower, Pocillopora meandrina is often pink, green or cream and recognized by its branched colonies. Called Ko'a in Hawaiian, coral is abundant on the rocky reefs of the Indo-Pacific and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
"The information presented in the petition and other information readily available in our records indicate that the most significant threat to P. meandrina in its current and future range, as well as in Indo-Pacific reef coral communities. which includes P. meandrina This is the warming of the oceans and coral bleaching and the resulting mortality, "says the report.
Between 2014 and 2015, cauliflower coral was one of many species affected by severe whitening events – in which single-celled organisms called zooxanthellae that live within the coral structure and it give pigments are expelled. Sometimes zooxanthellae can re-settle in the coral, other times the body dies.
Subsequent surveys of Hanauma Bay in Oahu in 2016 showed signs of bleaching in 64% of P. meandrina colonies, while 1.3% "experienced post-bleach mortality".
"In the end, protecting corals requires reducing global temperature increases by dramatically reducing fossil fuel emissions. Cauliflower coral is also locally threatened by pollution from land-based sources, sedimentation and physical disturbances caused by human activities, "said the Center for Biodiversity in a press release.
If cauliflower coral is listed under the Endangered Species Act, it will ensure that "any federal activity funded or authorized by federal agencies likely to affect that coral will have to do the same." subject to consultation and mitigate the impacts on corals'. Director of Programs of the Department of Oceans at the Center for Biodiversity in an interview with the Press Service of the Courthouse.
"There are sometimes misunderstandings that prevent people from fishing or going and preventing people from using the beaches or canoe over the water, but that's not what the law does. Its main mechanism is to review federal activities and ensure that they do not harm corals, "Sakashita said.
The Center for Biodiversity has already helped protect the first species of coral under the Endangered Species Act in 2006. Twenty other coral species were added in 2014.
"We find that the listing of P. meandrina throughout its range can be justified by the threat of global warming alone," Rauch wrote. "During the status review, we will determine if P. meandrina is in danger of extinction (endangered) or likely to become extinct (endangered) in all or part of its range".
Over the next 60 days, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be accepting public and expert comments on its website regarding the potential classification of coral. The agency should issue a final decision within a year.
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