44% of reef-building coral species at risk of extinction: IUCN

Some 44% of the world’s warm-water, reef-building coral species are facing risk of extinction, according to the latest update by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This is a significant increase compared to the last assessment in 2008, when a third were considered threatened. The latest assessment covers all known coral species that build colorful reefs in shallow, warm waters. In a statement, the IUCN said of the 892 coral species reassessed recently, at least 340 were found to be threatened. These include 56 species categorized as vulnerable, 251 as endangered and 33 as critically endangered.  The IUCN also took into consideration that some coral species classified as data deficient (DD) could be at risk of extinction, according to an emailed statement from the IUCN’s Coral Specialist Group that referenced a newly published FAQ. “This [44%] is a mid-point figure within a range from 38% threatened species (if all DD species are not threatened) to 51% threatened species (if all DD species are threatened),” the group, which led the coral assessment, said in the statement. Among species whose conservation status worsened from vulnerable to critically endangered is the saffron coral (Porites sverdrupi), found in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Considered to have a “narrow thermal tolerance,” its population has declined by more than 90% since the 1990s due to hurricanes and bleaching events. The Chagos brain coral (Ctenella chagius), found in the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, also saw its status decline from endangered to critically endangered. While…This article was originally published on Mongabay