BEFORE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE PETITION TO LIST EIGHT SPECIES OF POMACENTRID REEF FISH, INCLUDING THE ORANGE CLOWNFISH AND SEVEN DAMSELFISH, AS THREATENED OR ENDANGERED UNDER THE U.S. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Orange Clownfish (Amphiprion percula) photo by flickr user Jan Messersmith CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY SUBMITTED SEPTEMBER 13, 2012 Notice of Petition Rebecca M. Blank Acting Secretary of Commerce U.S. Department of Commerce 1401 Constitution Ave, NW Washington, D.C. 20230 Email: [email protected] Samuel Rauch Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries NOAA Fisheries National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration 1315 East-West Highway Silver Springs, MD 20910 E-mail: [email protected] PETITIONER Center for Biological Diversity 351 California Street, Suite 600 San Francisco, CA 94104 Tel: (415) 436-9682 _____________________ Date: September 13, 2012 Shaye Wolf, Ph.D. Miyoko Sakashita Center for Biological Diversity Pursuant to Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b), Section 553(3) of the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553(e), and 50 C.F.R.§ 424.14(a), the Center for Biological Diversity hereby petitions the Secretary of Commerce and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), through the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS” or “NOAA Fisheries”), to list eight pomacentrid reef fish and to designate critical habitat to ensure their survival. The Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”) is a non-profit, public interest environmental organization dedicated to the protection of imperiled species and their habitats through science, policy, and environmental law. The Center has more than 350,000 members and online activists throughout the United States. The Center and its members are concerned with the conservation of endangered species, including the petitioned damselfish and anemonefish, and the effective implementation of the ESA. ii NMFS has jurisdiction over this petition. This petition sets in motion a specific process, placing definite response requirements on NMFS. Specifically, NMFS must issue an initial finding as to whether the petition “presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted.” 16 U.S.C. §1533(b)(3)(A). NMFS must make this initial finding “[t]o the maximum extent practicable, within 90 days after receiving the petition.” Id. Petitioner needs not demonstrate that the petitioned action is warranted, rather, Petitioner must only present information demonstrating that such action may be warranted. While Petitioner believes that the best available science demonstrates that listing the eight pomacentrid species as threatened or endangered is in fact warranted, there can be no reasonable dispute that the available information indicates that listing these species as either threatened or endangered may be warranted. As such, NMFS must promptly make a positive initial finding on the petition and commence a status review as required by 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(B). The eight pomacentrid species covered by this petition are: Amphiprion percula (Orange clownfish) Chromis atripectoralis (Black-axil chromis) Chromis viridis (Blue-green damselfish) Dascyllus albisella (Hawaiian damselfish) Dascyllus reticulatus (Reticulate damselfish or Two-stripe damselfish) Microspathodon chrysurus (Yellowtail damselfish or Jewel damselfish) Plectroglyphidodon dickii (Blackbar devil or Dick’s damselfish) Plectroglyphidodon johnstonianus (Blue-eye damselfish) Authors: Shaye Wolf, Miyoko Sakashita, and Patrick Doherty, Center for Biological Diversity iii Table of Contents Executive Summary........................................................................................................................ 1 Part One: Natural History and Threats to the Petitioned Clownfish and Damselfish Species ....... 5 I. Introduction to Pomacentrids (Damselfish and Anemonefish) ............................................... 5 A. Description of the Pomacentrids........................................................................................ 5 B. Taxonomy........................................................................................................................... 5 C. Range and Distribution....................................................................................................... 5 D. Habitat Requirements......................................................................................................... 6 E. Diet and Foraging Ecology................................................................................................. 8 F. Reproductive Ecology and Development ........................................................................... 9 G. Lifespan............................................................................................................................ 10 H. Ecological Importance ..................................................................................................... 10 II. Species Accounts for the Petitioned Clownfish and Damselfish Species: Natural History and Threats................................................................................................................................ 11 A. Anemonefish……………………………………………………………………………12 1. Amphiprion percula (Orange clownfish)………………………………….................. 12 B. Damselfish: Caribbean and Indo-Pacific Species Occurring in U.S. Waters................... 14 2. Chromis atripectoralis (Black-axil chromis)…………………………….................... 14 3. Chromis viridis (Blue-green damselfish)………………………………….................. 15 4. Dascyllus albisella (Hawaiian dascyllus)……………………………….. ................... 17 5. Dascyllus reticulatus (Reticulate dascyllus or Two-stripe damselfish)….................... 20 6. Microspathodon chrysurus (Yellowtail damselfish or Jewel damselfish).................... 21 7. Plectroglyphidodon dickii (Blackbar devil or Dick’s damselfish)………. .................. 24 8. Plectroglyphidodon johnstonianus (Blue-eye damselfish)………………................... 26 Part Two: The Petitioned Reef Fish Are Threatened or Endangered Based on the Endangered Species Act Listing Factors .......................................................................................................... 28 I. Criteria for Listing Species as Endangered or Threatened under the Endangered Species Act and the Time Horizon for the Foreseeable Future .................................................................... 28 A. Listing Criteria ................................................................................................................. 28 B. The Foreseeable Future .................................................................................................... 28 II. Each of the Petitioned Fish Species Is Threatened or Endangered Based on the Five Endangered Species Act Listing Factors .................................................................................. 32 A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment of Habitat or Range (Listing Factor A): Coral Reef Habitat Loss Due to Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Pollution Resulting in Ocean Warming and Ocean Acidification Threatens the Petitioned Reef Fish ............................................................................................................................... 32 1. Overview of climate change and current greenhouse gas emission trends................... 34 2. Ocean warming threatens the coral reef and anemone habitat of the petitioned pomacentrid reef fish…………………………………………………………… ............ 36 3. Ocean acidification threatens the coral reef habitat of the petitioned pomacentrid reef fish………………………………………………………………………………............. 49 B. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting The Continued Existence of the Petitioned Pomacentrid Reef Fish (Listing Factor E): Direct Impacts of Ocean Acidification and Ocean Warming on Pomacentrid Reef Fish..................................................................................... 55 1. Direct impacts of ocean acidification to the petitioned clownfish and damselfish....... 55 iv 2. Ocean warming adversely affects damselfish reproduction and aerobic performance. 61 C. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or Educational Purposes (Listing Factor C): Over-Harvest for the Global Marine Aquarium Trade .......................... 65 D. Existing Regulatory Mechanisms Are Inadequate to Address Threats to the Petitioned Pomacentrid Species From Greenhouse Gas Pollution, Degradation of their Coral Reef Habitat, and the Marine Aquarium Trade (Listing Factor D)............................................... 68 1. Regulatory mechanisms addressing greenhouse gas pollution are inadequate to . protect the petitioned pomacentrid species………………………………………… ................... 68 2. Regulatory mechanisms for protecting coral reef habitat are inadequate…................. 71 3. Regulatory mechanisms for the marine aquarium trade are inadequate… ................... 72 Critical Habitat Designation ......................................................................................................... 73 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 74 References Cited ........................................................................................................................... 74 v Executive Summary The damselfish and anemonefish of the