Pocillopora meandrina coral

Protected Status

ESA Candidate

Throughout Its Range

Quick Facts

Weight

Not relevant for corals

Length

N/A

Threats

Climate change, including ocean warming and ocean acidification, Habitat degradation, Diseases, Unsustainable fishing

Location

Pacific Islands

See Regulatory Actions

Colonies of cauliflower coral (Pocillopora meandrina).

Pocillopora meandrina colony in Hawai'i. Photo courtesy by Douglas Fenner.

About the Species

Pocillopora meandrina (sometimes called cauliflower coral) is found in reef coral communities at depths of 1 to 27 meters, commonly on shallow reefs exposed to strong wave action. It is found on most coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific and eastern Pacific, with a range extending from the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean to the west coast of Central America in the eastern Pacific. The species is found in all U.S. Pacific Islands jurisdictions.

ESA Candidate

Throughout Its Range

Appearance

Colonies of Pocillopora meandrina are small upright bushes, with branches radiating from the initial point of growth. Branches are flattened and covered by bumps called verrucae. Colonies are usually cream colored but can also be green or pink.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Cnidaria
Class	Anthozoa
Order	Scleractinia
Family	Pocilloporidae
Genus	Pocillopora
Species	meandrina

Management Overview

In March 2018, NOAA Fisheries received a petition to list P. meandrina under the Endangered Species Act. Due to a host of threats that have recently worsened, we found that the available information may support the petitioned action, thus we have published a positive 90-day finding and are commencing a range-wide status review of P. meandrina. Based on the status review, a 12-month finding will be published that either concludes that listing is Not Warranted, or that the species should be proposed for listing under the ESA.

Regulatory History

On March 14, 2018, NOAA Fisheries received a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity to list P. meandrina in Hawaiʻi under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The petition requested that the Hawai’i portion of P. meandrina’s range be considered a significant portion of its range/(SPR). However, before we can analyze such specifics of P. meandrina’s range, we must first find that the species is neither endangered nor threatened throughout all of its range. Thus, we interpret the petition as a request to consider the status of P. meandrina throughout its entire range first.

90-Day Finding on Petition to List Pocillopora meandrina under the Endangered Species Act

Comparison of P. meandrina (left) and P. eydouxi (right), Philippines. Photo courtesy of Doug Fenner. We, NOAA Fisheries, announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the cauliflower coral (Pocillopora meandrina)in Hawaii as an endangered...

90-Day Finding (83 FR 47592, September 20, 2018)

Information Gathering

Pacific Islands

Published

09/20/2018

Documents

Document

Literature Cited in Pocillopora meandrina Coral 90-day Finding

Alphabetical listing of all documents cited in 90-day finding.

Pacific Islands

Pocillopora meandrina coral