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Published Online July 10, 2008
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1159196

Reports

Submitted on April 16, 2008
Accepted on June 24, 2008

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, Alasdair J. Edwards 12, Douglas Fenner 13, Héctor M. Guzmán 14, Bert W. Hoeksema 15, Gregor Hodgson 16, Ofri Johan 17, Wilfredo Y. Licuanan 18, Suzanne R. Livingstone 1, Edward R. Lovell 19, Jennifer A. Moore 20, David O. Obura 21, Domingo Ochavillo 22, Beth A. Polidoro 1, William F. Precht 23, Miledel C. Quibilan 24, Clarissa Reboton 25, Zoe T. Richards 26, Alex D. Rogers 27, Jonnell Sanciangco 1, Anne Sheppard 28, Charles Sheppard 29, Jennifer Smith 1, Simon Stuart 30, Emre Turak 10, John E. N. Veron 10, Carden Wallace 31, Ernesto Weil 32, Elizabeth Wood 33

1 IUCN Species Programme/SSC/Conservation International Global Marine Species Assessment, Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
2 Research Center for Oceanography-Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jakarta, Indonesia.
3 Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, USA.
4 Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL, USA.
5 Charles Darwin Research Station, Puerto-Ayora, Santa-Cruz-Galápagos, Ecuador.
6 NOAA Fisheries/NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
7 Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
8 CIMAR, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
9 Waikiki Aquarium, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
10 Coral Reef Research, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
11 Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.; Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
12 School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
13 Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Pago Pago, American Samoa, USA.
14 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama.
15 National Museum of Natural History Naturalis, Leiden, The Netherlands.
16 Reef Check Foundation, Pacific Palisades, CA, USA.
17 Research Center for Aquaculture, Minggu, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia.
18 Biology Department and Shields Marine Station, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.
19 School of Marine Studies, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji.
20 NOAA Fisheries Service, Protected Resources Division, Petersburg, FL, USA.
21 CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya.
22 Reef Check Philippines, Manila, Philippines.
23 NOAA, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Damage Assessment and Restoration Program, Key Largo, FL, USA.
24 Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape Program, Conservation International – Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines.
25 Silliman University, Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences, Bantayan, Dumaguete City, Philippines.
26 Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
27 Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London, UK.
28 Department of Biological Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
29 Department of Biological Science, University of Warwick, Coventry,UK.
30 IUCN/SSC – CI/CABS Biodiversity Assessment Unit, Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.
31 Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
32 Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Lajas, PR, USA.
33 Marine Conservation Society, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.

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

The conservation status of 845 zooxanthellate reef-building coral species have been assessed using IUCN 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 most terrestrial groups. The Caribbean has the largest proportion of corals in high extinction risk categories while 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.


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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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