Patterns of extinction risk and threat for marine vertebrates and habitat-forming species in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

Polidoro, Beth; Brooks, Thomas M.; Carpenter, Kent E.; Edgar, Graham J.; Henderson, Scott; Sanciangco, Jonnell C.; Robertson, D. Ross

doi:10.3354/meps09545

Cited by 50 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…At present, the Mediterranean is heavily impacted, in addition to fishing, by multiple stressors ranging from temperature increase and acidification to habitat modification and pollution in coastal areas 33 . In the northeast Atlantic, the situation continues to improve 29 : of the 56 stocks there, almost twice as many are sustainable (19) as overfished (10); 8 stocks are recovering, but 19 are declining. The stocks in most peril are those of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), with some still having relatively low biomass and high exploitation rates, although there has been an improvement in North Sea cod in recent years 34 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Coherent assessments of Europe’s marine fishes show regional divergence and megafauna loss

et al. 2017

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Europe has a long tradition of exploiting marine fishes and is promoting marine economic activity through its Blue Growth strategy. This increase in anthropogenic pressure, along with climate change, threatens the biodiversity of fishes and food security. Here, we examine the conservation status of 1,020 species of European marine fishes and identify factors that contribute to their extinction risk. Large fish species (greater than 1.5 m total length) are most at risk; half of these are threatened with extinction, predominantly sharks, rays and sturgeons. This analysis was based on the latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) European regional Red List of marine fishes, which was coherent with assessments of the status of fish stocks carried out independently by fisheries management agencies: no species classified by IUCN as threatened were considered sustainable by these agencies. A remarkable geographic divergence in stock status was also evident: in northern Europe, most stocks were not overfished, whereas in the Mediterranean Sea, almost all stocks were overfished. As Europe proceeds with its sustainable Blue Growth agenda, two main issues stand out as needing priority actions in relation to its marine fishes: the conservation of marine fish megafauna and the sustainability of Mediterranean fish stocks.arine fishes exhibit high biodiversity 1,2 and have been culturally and nutritionally important throughout human history 3 . Europe, in particular, has a well-documented history of exploiting marine fish populations, written records of which commence in the classical works of ancient Greece. Although this historical exploitation has undoubtedly altered populations 4,5 and changed many seascapes 6 , marine defaunation in the region has not been as great as in terrestrial systems 7 . However, the use of ocean space and resources is increasing due to Europe's Blue Growth strategy 8 , the nutritional requirements of an expanding human population are growing 9,10 and marine ecosystems will experience unusually rapid changes in future due to climate change 11,12 . Consequently there are imminent threats both to European marine biodiversity and fish resources 13 . It is important, therefore, to assess the threats of extinction to fish species and to ensure consistency in the management approach by the various agencies involved.We analysed data on the conservation status of 1,020 species of Europe's marine fishes from the recent International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments 14 to identify characteristics that make Europe's fishes most susceptible to extinction risk. We then compared the Red List with 115 fish stock assessments (of 31 species) made by intergovernmental agencies charged with providing advice on the exploitation of commercial fishes. Previous comparisons of this sort applied criteria under various modelling assumptions [15][16][17] or limited the comparison to biomass reference points 18 . ResultsOf the 1,020 European marine fish species that were asses...

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Coherent assessments of Europe’s marine fishes show regional divergence and megafauna loss

et al. 2017

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“…In these two cases, double jeopardy did apply: both of these recently extinct reef species had very small populations and were endemic to sparse and marginal habitats in the remote Eastern Pacific [24,25]. However, the overwhelming majority of reef fishes and especially Local abundances of coral (circles) and fishes (triangles) were measured at multiple sites and habitats (reef flat, crest, and slope) on each island.…”

Section: Extinction Risk On Coral Reefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Double Jeopardy and Global Extinction Risk in Corals and Reef Fishes

et al. 2014

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Coral reefs are critically important ecosystems that support the food security and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people in maritime tropical countries, yet they are increasingly threatened by overfishing, coastal pollution, climate change, and other anthropogenic impacts, leading to concerns that some species may be threatened with local or even global extinction. The concept of double jeopardy proposes that the risk of species extinction is elevated if species that are endemic (small range) are also scarce (low local abundance). Traditionally, marine macroecology has been founded on patterns of species richness and presence-absence data, which provide no information on species abundances or on the prevalence of double jeopardy. Here we quantify the abundances of >400 species of corals and fishes along one of the world's major marine biodiversity gradients, from the Coral Triangle hotspot to French Polynesia, a distance of approximately 10,000 km. In contrast to classical terrestrial studies, we find that the abundance of these species bears no relationship to the size of their geographic ranges. Consequently, double jeopardy is uncommon because endemics are often locally abundant, and conversely many pandemics are rare. The Coral Triangle hotspot has more numerically rare species (both endemic and pandemic) but also encompasses more species with intermediate and higher abundances. We conclude that conservation efforts in the sea should focus less on extinction risk and more on maintaining and rebuilding key ecological functions that are highly vulnerable to human pressures, even if species can avoid extinction.

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“…We observed octocoral community-wide mortalities and a lasting occurrence of C. riisei competing and overgrowing Pacifigorgia sea fans and Leptogorgia sea whips at multiple TEP sites between 2009 and 2013. The presence of C. riseii in the TEP is a great conservation concern because it threatens a number of endemic gorgonian corals (35 potential Pacifigorgia species for instance) in an area where over 10% invertebrates have high extinction risk (Polidoro et al, 2012). The threat of local extinction due to C. riisei to shallow water (<10m) TEP octocorals is evident given its capacity to overgrowth and to kill other octocorals at a constant rate.…”

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confidence: 99%

The invasive snowflake coral (Carijoa riisei) in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, Colombia

Sánchez

Ballesteros

2014

RBT

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Carijoa riisei (Octocorallia: Cnidaria), a western Atlantic species, has been reported in the Pacific as an invasive species for nearly forty years. C. riisei has been recently observed overgrowing native octocorals at several rocky-coral littorals in the Colombian Tropical Eastern Pacific-(TEP). C. riisei has inhabited these reefs for at least 15 years but the aggressive overgrowth on other octocorals have been noted until recently. Here, we surveyed for the first time the distribution and inter-specific aggression by C. riisei in both coastal and oceanic areas colonized in the Colombian TEP (Malpelo, Gorgona and Cabo Corrientes), including preliminary multiyear surveys during 2007-2013. We observed community-wide octocoral mortalities (including local extinction of some Muricea spp.) and a steady occurrence of competing and overgrowing Pacifigorgia seafans and Leptogorgia seawhips. In Gorgona Island, at two different sites, over 87% (n=77 tagged colonies) of octocorals (Pacifigorgia spp. and Leptogorgia alba) died as a result of C. riisei interaction and/or overgrowth between 2011 and 2013. C. riisei overgrows octocorals with an estimate at linear growth rate of about 1cm m -1 . The aggressive overgrowth of this species in TEP deserves more attention and regular monitoring programs. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (Suppl.

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Patterns of extinction risk and threat for marine vertebrates and habitat-forming species in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

Cited by 50 publications

References 71 publications

Coherent assessments of Europe’s marine fishes show regional divergence and megafauna loss

Coherent assessments of Europe’s marine fishes show regional divergence and megafauna loss

Double Jeopardy and Global Extinction Risk in Corals and Reef Fishes

The invasive snowflake coral (Carijoa riisei) in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, Colombia

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