1. The World’s Most Endangered Hydrocoral:
Millepora boschmai
William J. Kane
School of Marine and Tropical Biology
James Cook University
1 James Cook Dr, Townsville, QLD 4811
Biology
Although life history amongst Millepora spp. differs significantly,
they bear a superficial resemblance to scleractinian branching
species and are constrained by similar environmental factors
including:
• Light
• Depth
• Salinity
• Turbulence
• Temperature
Morphological characteristics of millepores are most commonly
utilized for taxonomic purposes, although hydrocorals often
possess morphological plasticity, which often impairs proper
identification of a species as well as extant colonies.
Razak & Hoeksema, 2003
Distribution
M. boschmai has been definitively identified in only two specific
regions of the world:
• Gulf of Chiriquí (Panama)
• Spermonde Archipelago (Indonesia)
IUCN Redlist dist. of M. boschmai, 2013
Current Status
Of Millepora spp. observed by the IUCN, M. boschmai is
presently the only hydrocoral classified as ‘critically
endangered’. This is attributed to:
• Paucity of available information
• Extremely low area of distribution
• Lack of positive identification of extant colonies
Conservation Strategies
Active methods of conservation may now be the only plausible
approach to preserving this rare hydrocoral:
• Coral mariculture
• Colony transplantation
• Cryopreservation of gametes
Prognosis
The lack of any observed extant colonies of the holotype
species does not inspire much hope. Active restoration methods
have been relatively successful amongst other millepores but
are unlikely to successfully rehabilitate M. boschmai even if
conspecific colonies are located. All reported local extinctions
have been attributed to anomalously severe ENSO events
throughout recent decades. Therefore, drivers of such
phenomena must be drastically reduced if this species is to be
observed amongst reef communities in forthcoming years.
Jana Orsolic, 2011