Pocillopora meandrina: Status Review Report Pocillopora meandrina (left) and P. eydouxi (right), Philippines (Doug Fenner). 2019 Pacific Islands Regional Office National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Acknowledgements The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) gratefully acknowledges the seven Pocillopora meandrina Extinction Risk Analysis (ERA) Team members, and thanks them for generously contributing their time and expertise to the development of this status review report: Dr. David Delaney – Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources, Honolulu, HI Dr. Danielle Jayewardene, U.S. Navy, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Navy Facilities Hawaii, Environmental Planning, Honolulu, HI Dr. Steve Kolinski – National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Regional Office, Habitat Conservation Division, Honolulu, HI Mr. Anthony Montgomery – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, Honolulu, HI Dr. Tom Oliver – National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division, Honolulu, HI Dr. Lance Smith – National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Regional Office, Protected Resources Division, Honolulu, HI Mr. Stephen Smith, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, U.S. Navy, Honolulu, HI Many coral scientists and experts provided information and data on the distribution, abundance, and other aspects of P. meandrina that together made this report possible. Their knowledge and assistance is gratefully acknowledged: Dr. Mehdi Adjeroud, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Perpignan, France Dr. Andrew Baird, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia Mr. David Benavente, Marine Monitoring Team Leader, Division of Coastal Resources Management, Saipan, CNMI, US Mr. Damien Beri, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Regional Office, Protected Resources Division, Honolulu, HI Dr. Charles Birkeland, University of Hawai‘i (retired), Honolulu, HI, US Dr. Gonzalo Pérez-Rosales Blanch, Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement (CRIOBE), Moorea, Polynésie Française Dr. Héctor Reyes Bonilla, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, La Paz, México Dr. Eric Brown, National Park of American Samoa, Tutuila, American Samoa, US Dr. Dave Burdick, University of Guam, Guam, US Mr. Johnathan Casey, Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu, HI Dr. Steve Coles, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI Dr. Eric Conklin, The Nature Conservancy, Honolulu, HI Dr. Courtney Couch, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, Honolulu, HI Dr. Chelsie Counsell, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, Honolulu, HI Dr. Lydon DeVantier, Consultant (retired), Australia Dr. Mary Donovan, Hawai‘i Monitoring & Research Collaborative (HIMARC), Honolulu Dr. Douglas Fenner, Contractor with NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Regional Office, Honolulu, HI, US Dr. Peter Glynn, University of Miami, FL ii Dr. Gregor Hodgson, Reef Check, CA Dr. Peter Houk, University of Guam, Micronesia Coral Reef Monitoring Program, Guam, US Dr. Steven Johnson, Oregon State University, OR Dr. Lyza Johnston, Consultant, Saipan, CNMI, US Dr. Jean Kenyon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (retired), Honolulu, HI Ms. Lindsey Kramer, Hawai‘i Department of Marine and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources, Kailua-Kona, HI Ms. Alice Lawrence, Coral Reef Advisory Group (CRAG), Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR), American Samoa, US Mr. Steve McKagan, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Regional Office, Habitat Conservation Division, Saipan, CNMI, US Mr. Anthony Montgomery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Honolulu, HI Dr. Paul Muir, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville, Australia Dr. Craig Mundy, University of Tasmania, Australia Dr. David Obura, Chair of IUCN Coral Specialist Group, Coastal Oceans Research and Development – Indian Ocean (CORDIO), Mombasa, Kenya Dr. Michel Pichon, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville, Australia Ms. Samantha Reynolds, Joali Maldives Dr. Zoe Richards, Curtin University and Western Australia Museum, Perth, Australia Dr. Ku‘ulei Rodgers, Hawai‘i Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP), University of Hawai‘i, HI Dr. Charles Sheppard, University of Warwick, England, UK Mr. Stephen Smith, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), U.S. Navy, Honolulu, HI Mr. Russell Sparks, Hawai‘i Department of Marine and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources, Wailuku Dr. Dione Swanson, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Coral Reef Ecosystem Program, Honolulu, HI Dr. Rob Toonen, Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai‘i, HI Dr. Charlie Veron, Corals of The World (www.coralsoftheworld.org), Australia This publication makes use of data provided by the Micronesia Coral Reef Monitoring Program (MCRMP), the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority, the Marshall Islands Conservation Society, Pohnpei Conservation Society, Pohnpei Fisheries, Kosrae Safety and Conservation Organization, Kosrae Island Resource Management Agency, Chuuk Conservation Society, Chuuk Marine Resources, Yap Marine Resources, Yap Community Action Program, CNMI Bureau of Coastal and Environmental Quality, and the University of Guam Marine Laboratory. The analysis and interpretations presented here are solely that of the author. NMFS gratefully acknowledges the peer reviews provided by Drs. Mark Eakin, Scott Heron, and Jean Kenyon, which substantially improved the final version of this report. Please cite this report as: Smith, L.W. 2019. Status Review Report: Pocillopora meandrina. National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Regional Office, Honolulu. iii Contents Executive Summary…………………………………………………...………………………….ix 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 2. Biology and Habitat ................................................................................................................ 2 2.1. Nomenclature and Morphology ....................................................................................... 2 2.2. Taxonomic and Species Identification Uncertainty ......................................................... 3 2.3. Life History ...................................................................................................................... 5 2.4. Habitat Breadth ................................................................................................................ 5 3. Demographic Risk Factors ...................................................................................................... 6 3.1. Distribution....................................................................................................................... 7 3.1.1. The 95 Ecoregions .................................................................................................... 7 3.1.2. Depth Range............................................................................................................ 10 3.1.3. Distribution Summary ............................................................................................. 10 3.2. Abundance ...................................................................................................................... 10 3.2.1. Relative Abundances – 65/95 Ecoregions .............................................................. 11 3.2.2. Absolute Abundances – 8/95 Ecoregions ............................................................... 20 3.2.3. Abundance Trends – 10/95 Ecoregions .................................................................. 22 3.2.4. Abundance Summary .............................................................................................. 33 3.3. Productivity .................................................................................................................... 34 3.4. Diversity ......................................................................................................................... 37 3.5. Demographic Factors Conclusion .................................................................................. 38 iv 4. Threats Evaluation ................................................................................................................ 40 4.1. Ocean Warming (Factor E) ............................................................................................ 40 4.2. Ocean Acidification (ESA Factor E) .............................................................................. 42 4.3. Sea Level Rise (ESA Factor E) ...................................................................................... 43 4.4. Fishing (ESA Factor A).................................................................................................. 44 4.5. Land-based Sources of Pollution (ESA Factor A) ......................................................... 45 4.6. Coral Disease (ESA Factor C) ....................................................................................... 46 4.7. Predation (ESA Factor C) .............................................................................................. 47 4.8. Collection and Trade (ESA Factor B) ...........................................................................