Proceedings of the Caribbean Acropora Workshop: Potential Application of the U.S. Endangered Species Act as a Conservation Strategy

Bruckner, Andew

The widespread degradation and loss of the main reef-building corals, elkhorn coral and staghorn coral, on coral reefs in Florida and throughout the Caribbean was the focus of a three-day workshop held at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS). The Caribbean Acropora Workshop was conceived to obtain recent information on the status of Acropora populations throughout the wider Caribbean, and determine appropriate strategies to conserve these critical resources. The first day of the workshop consisted of a series of presentations on the status and trends, threats, and biology and ecology of Acropora cervicornis, A. palmata and A. prolifera; a discussion of the application of research data; and presentations on available management tools to develop effective conservation programs for these species. The first session included a regional overview, as well as more detailed presentations on Acropora populations in Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and several non-U.S. countries including the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Belize, Netherlands Antilles, Colombia and the northeast Caribbean. The second session discussed mapping of Acropora habitat and colonies, the relevance of geological information in evaluating risk factors, population dynamics and life history traits, genetic information, the use of aquaculture and mariculture to restore degraded populations, existing management measures, and potential application of the ESA as a conservation strategy. This was followed by four concurrent breakout working group sessions on 1) status and trends of Acropora populations throughout the Caribbean; 2) biology and ecology of Acropora spp. and how these influence the potential for recovery; 3) existing management measures in the U.S. and wider Caribbean and their relevance to Acropora conservation, and new initiatives needed to protect these species; and 4) information and research needs to better understand and address the threats these species face, and predict the likelihood of recovery. The main focus of this workshop was to update available information on these species and determine the most appropriate strategies to conserve and rebuild Acropora populations. Because the emphasis was on the potential use of the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a conservation tool, the majority of the participants were from the United States. Participants included fisheries officials, resource managers and scientists Federal, State and Territorial governments, universities and non-government organizations. A number of other countries were also represented to obtain a more regional perspective. This included scientific and management expertise from non-U.S. locations, as a determination of an endangered or threatened listing in the U.S. ESA for invertebrates requires an evaluation of the status, trends and threats affecting these species throughout their range. The Proceedings include reports from each of the working groups, white papers from Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, abstracts from the talks, restoration approaches applied to these corals, background information used to list these species as Candidates for the ESA, and a reference compilation of all literature specific for Caribbean Acroporids. The Executive Summary highlights the major outcomes and conclusions from the workshop, including the specific resolutions of each working group. These proceedings should provide the information needed to complete a full status review on these species and make a listing determination for the ESA.

Proceedings of the Caribbean Acropora Workshop: Potential Application of the U.S. Endangered Species Act as a Conservation Strategy

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