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NRLD - 329947 | Pocillopora damicornis

Assessment ID
329947
Taxon name
Pocillopora damicornis
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Pocillopora damicornis
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Invertebrates
Corals
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
cnidaria
Class
anthozoa
Order
scleractinia
Family
pocilloporidae
Genus
Pocillopora
Species
damicornis
Species authority
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Endangered
Abbreviated status
EN
Qualifying criteria (if given)
B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)
Criteria system used
IUCN

(see Assessment details)

Assessment rationale/justification
This coral is known from the Sea of Oman coast of the UAE; it does not occur along the Gulf coast. Based on the known coral reefs along the Sea of Oman coast, the extent of occurrence is likely less than 400 km<sup>2</sup> and the area of occupancy is less than 80 km<sup>2</sup>. This species appears to be particularly susceptible to adverse effects as a result of harmful algal blooms, which resulted in a local extirpation (e.g., at Dibba Reef, Fujairah). Some recovery was documented after the bloom; in the absence of recent, major disturbances, this species is likely to continue to recover, though no current data are available to validate this assumption. However, in light of ongoing and accelerating threats (harmful algal blooms, coral bleaching) resulting from global climate change, this species occurs in less than 5 locations and is experiencing an ongoing decline in the area and quality of habitat. Therefore, this species is assessed as Endangered B1ab(iii)+B2ab(iii). No regional adjustment is made to the Endangered listing.
Assessment details
Year assessed
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species is known from UAE waters in the Sea of Oman (Bento 2009, Foster et al. 2011, Bento et al. 2016, Grizzle et al. 2016). Elsewhere, this species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific and Eastern Tropical Pacific.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Terrestrial
Not_assigned
Freshwater
Not_assigned
Marine
Yes
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species occurs in all shallow water habitats from exposed reef fronts to mangrove swamps and wharf piles. This species is found in mono-specific stands or multi-species reefs throughout its range from near the surface to a maximum depth of 20 m. In the South China Sea and the Gulf of Siam, it is commonly found from 1-15 m, rarely 18-20 m (Titlyanov and Titlyanova 2002); in Panama, it is found from 0.5-6 m (Sheppard 1982). This species is relatively tolerant of sedimentation and low salinity, as long as there is adequate water motion. Colonies reproduce by fragmentation and by sexual reproduction (broadcast spawning) (Hodgson 1998).Pocillopora species are preyed on by various consumers, including fishes, hermit crabs and gastropods (Glynn 2001, 2003). Mutualistic symbiotic relationships with crab (Trapezia sp.) and alpheid shrimp can help protect the coral from the attack of the crown-of-thorns sea star, Acanthaster planci (Glynn 2001).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
In the Gulf, the major threats to corals include extreme and increasing temperature variability due to climate change, as well as direct destruction and increased turbidity caused by coastal construction (Riegl et al. 2012). Although bleaching thresholds in the Gulf are the highest recorded in the world (Riegl et al. 2012), bleaching events in the UAE have resulted in significant mortality (such as in 1996-1998, 2002, 2010 and 2017) and slow recovery (Burt et al. 2008). In Abu Dhabi, the most recent coral bleaching event resulted in nearly 95% of corals bleaching, and by April 2018, mortality reached 73% (Burt et al. 2019). This event resulted in mass mortality of even the more stress-tolerant corals such as poritids and merulinids (Burt et al. 2019). Coastal development, particularly large-scale offshore real estate developments and sedimentation associated with reclamation, has directly buried coral reefs in the Gulf (Burt et al. 2008, 2013; Burt 2014; Burt and Bartholomew 2019). In the Sea of Oman, UAE reefs have experienced major hurricanes and harmful algal blooms that caused high coral mortality and shifted community structure (Bauman et al. 2010, Foster et al. 2011).Globally, the major threat to corals is global climate change, in particular, temperature extremes leading to bleaching and increased susceptibility to disease, increased severity of ENSO events and storms, and ocean acidification. In the Eastern Tropical Pacific, major reef-building corals, including species of Pocillopora, Porites, Pavona and Gardinoseris, catastrophically declined in the Galápagos Archipelago and Cocos Island after 1983. Pocilloporid coral mortality was high, ranging from 51% at Caño Island to 76-85% in Panama and 97-100% in the Galápagos Islands (Glynn et al. 1988). The observed recovery was in large part nullified by the 1997-98 ENSO event (Glynn 2000). In Palau, this species exhibited variable bleaching (0-50%) and low mortality during the 1998 bleaching event (Brunno et al. 2001). Other threats include the crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci (Glynn 1994, 2000, 2002). These voracious predators of reef-building corals are found throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Red Sea. Populations of the crown-of-thorns starfish have greatly increased since the 1970s and have been known to wipe out large areas of coral reef habitat. Increased breakouts have become a major threat to some species, and have contributed to the overall decline and reef destruction in the Indo-Pacific region. The effects of such an outbreak include the reduction of abundance and surface cover of living coral, reduction of species diversity and composition, and overall reduction in habitat area. Coral disease has emerged as a serious threat to coral reefs worldwide and a major cause of reef deterioration (Weil 2006). The numbers of diseases and coral species affected, as well as the distribution of diseases have all increased dramatically within the last decade (Porter et al. 2001, Green and Bruckner 2000, Sutherland et al. 2004, Weil 2004). Coral disease epizootics have resulted in significant losses of coral cover and were implicated in the dramatic decline of acroporids in the Florida Keys (Aronson and Precht 2001, Porter et al. 2001, Patterson et al. 2002). In the Indo-Pacific, disease is also on the rise with disease outbreaks recently reported from the Great Barrier Reef (Willis et al. 2004), Marshall Islands (Jacobson 2006) and the northwestern Hawaiian Islands (Aeby et al. 2006). Increased coral disease levels on the GBR were correlated with increased ocean temperatures (Willis et al. 2004) supporting the prediction that disease levels will be increasing with higher sea surface temperatures. Escalating anthropogenic stressors combined with the threats associated with global climate change of increases in coral disease, frequency and duration of coral bleaching and ocean acidification place coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific at high risk of collapse.Harvesting for the curio trade has virtually eliminated pocilloporid corals from Acapulco (Mexico), Bahia Culebra (Costa Rica), Taboga Island (Panama), and parts of Ecuador (Glynn 2001). However, this activity is now largely excluded from Costa Rica and Panama (H. Guzmán pers. comm. 2008).Localized threats to corals include fisheries, human development (industry, settlement, tourism, and transportation), changes in native species dynamics (competitors, predators, pathogens and parasites), invasive species (competitors, predators, pathogens and parasites), dynamite fishing, chemical fishing, pollution from agriculture and industry, domestic pollution, sedimentation, and human recreation and tourism activities.
Publication
Ralph, G.M., Stump, E., Linardich, C., Bullock, R.W., Carpenter, K.E., Allen D.J., Hilton-Taylor, C., Al Mheiri, R., and Alshamsi, O. 2021. UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes. 2021. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.