%0 Journal Article
%T The Occurrence of Coral Species Reported as Threatened in Federally Protected Waters of the US Pacific
%A Jean Kenyon
%A James Maragos
%A Douglas Fenner
%J Journal of Marine Biology
%D 2011
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2011/358687
%X A recent study reported that seventy-five species of reef-building corals, considered to be at elevated extinction risk when assessed by the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, occur in Pacific waters under United States jurisdiction. Closer examination substantiates records of occurrence for 66 species, while records for the other 9 species were based on misinterpretations or are otherwise uncertain. Of these, at least 55 have been reported from reef habitat under federal protection within National Parks, Marine National Monuments, National Marine Sanctuaries, and National Wildlife Refuges. The highest number of species (31) is found within the Ofu Island unit of the National Park of American Samoa, followed by Kingman Reef (24) and Palmyra Atoll (21), both within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Federally protected areas already in place serve as important habitats for resources whose stewardship needs and priorities may vary over time. 1. Introduction The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species is a tool that is widely used for focusing attention on species of potential conservation concern [1, 2]. Assessments based on the IUCN Red List Criteria allocate species to categories of extinction risk using quantitative rules based on population sizes and decline rates, and range areas and declines. Categories range from ¡°Least Concern¡± with very little probability of extinction to high risk ¡°Critically Endangered¡±. Three categories collectively considered ¡°threatened¡± and representing increasing extinction risk (Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered) are intended to serve as one means of setting priority measures for biodiversity conservation [3]. Corals and coral reefs in many regions of the world are reported to be in a state of decline due to numerous local and global anthropogenic stressors including coastal point source pollution, agricultural and land use practices, overutilization for commercial or recreational purposes, and climate change and ocean acidification [4¨C9]. In response to their declining condition, three workshops were conducted in 2006 and 2007 to apply the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria [10] in assessing the extinction risk of all known zooxanthellate reef-building corals from the order Scleractinia plus reef-building octocorals and hydrocorals (families Helioporidae, Tubiporidae, and Milleporidae). Of the 704 species for which there were sufficient data to assign a category, 231 species (32.8%) were assigned to one of the
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jmb/2011/358687/