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Originally published in Science Express on 10 July 2008
Science 25 July 2008:
Vol. 321. no. 5888, pp. 560 - 563
DOI: 10.1126/science.1159196
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Reports

One-Third of Reef-Building Corals Face Elevated Extinction Risk from Climate Change and Local Impacts

Kent E. Carpenter,1* Muhammad Abrar,2 Greta Aeby,3 Richard B. Aronson,4 Stuart Banks,5 Andrew Bruckner,6 Angel Chiriboga,7 Jorge Cortés,8 J. Charles Delbeek,9 Lyndon DeVantier,10 Graham J. Edgar,11,12 Alasdair J. Edwards,13 Douglas Fenner,14 Héctor M. Guzmán,15 Bert W. Hoeksema,16 Gregor Hodgson,17 Ofri Johan,18 Wilfredo Y. Licuanan,19 Suzanne R. Livingstone,1 Edward R. Lovell,20 Jennifer A. Moore,21 David O. Obura,22 Domingo Ochavillo,23 Beth A. Polidoro,1 William F. Precht,24 Miledel C. Quibilan,25 Clarissa Reboton,26 Zoe T. Richards,27 Alex D. Rogers,28 Jonnell Sanciangco,1 Anne Sheppard,29 Charles Sheppard,29 Jennifer Smith,1 Simon Stuart,30 Emre Turak,10 John E. N. Veron,10 Carden Wallace,31 Ernesto Weil,32 Elizabeth Wood33

The conservation status of 845 zooxanthellate reef-building coral species was assessed by using International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Criteria. Of the 704 species that could be assigned conservation status, 32.8% are in categories with elevated risk of extinction. Declines in abundance are associated with bleaching and diseases driven by elevated sea surface temperatures, with extinction risk further exacerbated by local-scale anthropogenic disturbances. The proportion of corals threatened with extinction has increased dramatically in recent decades and exceeds that of most terrestrial groups. The Caribbean has the largest proportion of corals in high extinction risk categories, whereas the Coral Triangle (western Pacific) has the highest proportion of species in all categories of elevated extinction risk. Our results emphasize the widespread plight of coral reefs and the urgent need to enact conservation measures.

1 IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Species Programme Species Survival Commission (SSC) and Conservation International (CI) Global Marine Species Assessment, Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA.
2 Research Center for Oceanography, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jakarta, Indonesia.
3 Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA.
4 Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL 36528, USA.
5 Charles Darwin Research Station, Puerto-Ayora, Santa-Cruz-Galápagos, Ecuador.
6 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.
7 Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
8 Centro de Investigacion en Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia (CIMAR), University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
9 Waikiki Aquarium, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
10 Coral Reef Research, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
11 Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS), CI, Arlington, VA 22202, USA.
12 Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7011, Australia.
13 School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
14 Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Pago Pago, American Samoa, USA.
15 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa 0843-03092, Panama.
16 National Museum of Natural History Naturalis, Leiden 2333, Netherlands.
17 Reef Check Foundation, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272, USA.
18 Research Center for Aquaculture, Minggu, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia.
19 Biology Department and Shields Marine Station, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.
20 School of Marine Studies, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji.
21 NOAA Fisheries Service, Protected Resources Division, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
22 Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean (CORDIO) East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya.
23 Reef Check Philippines, Manila, Philippines.
24 NOAA, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Damage Assessment and Restoration Program, Key Largo, FL 33040, USA.
25 Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape Program, CI Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines.
26 Silliman University, Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences, Bantayan, Dumaguete City, Philippines.
27 Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
28 Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London NW1 4RY, UK.
29 Department of Biological Science, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
30 IUCN SSC and CI CABS Biodiversity Assessment Unit, Conservation International, Arlington, VA 23529, USA.
31 Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia.
32 Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Lajas, PR, USA.
33 Marine Conservation Society, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire HR9 5NB, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kcarpent{at}odu.edu

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E-Letters:

Read all E-Letters

Atlantic Corals—Least of our Concerns?
Nancy Knowlton, et al.
Science Online, 10 Nov 2008 [Full text]
Response to N. Knowlton and F. Nunes' E-Letter
Kent E. Carpenter, et al.
Science Online, 10 Nov 2008 [Full text]

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