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Rhizopsammia wellingtoni
– Critically Endangered
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CNIDARIA
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Class:
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ANTHOZOA
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Order:
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SCLERACTINIA
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Family:
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DENDROPHYLLIIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Rhizopsammia wellingtoni
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Species Authority:
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Wells, 1982
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Common Name/s:
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WELLINGTON'S SOLITARY CORAL (Eng)
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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CR A2a; B1ab(i)+2ab(i) ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2007
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Assessor/s:
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Hickman, C., Edgar, G., & Chiriboga, A.
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Evaluator/s:
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Stuart, S.N. & Carpenter, K.E. (Global Marine Species Assessment Coordinating Team)
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Justification:
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Prior to 1984, this coral was recorded in 2 to 43 m depth from Caleta Tagus (Isabela), and Gardner Island and Devil's Crown (Floreana) (Glynn and Wellington 1983, Cairns 1991). The species was extremely abundant at Tagus Cove (approx. 13% mean cover of reef surface at 15 m depth). All colonies known prior to the 1982-83 El Niño event have apparently since disappeared, although a few colonies of the species have been detected at two sites - Cousins and Gordons Rocks in the past decade (P. Humann pers. comm. to C.P. Hickman), with these colonies apparently now also lost. Estimated decline since 1982 (generation length is >10 years): >90% (Edgar and Garske 2005). The threat of El Niño has not ceased, hence if it is still extant, there is likely to be continuing decline in the range of this species.
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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Rhizopsammia wellingtoni is an endemic species from the Galápagos Archipelago, Ecuador; only known from Tagus Cove, Isabela; Cousins, Santiago; Daphne Islet and Gordons Rocks, Santa Cruz; Gardner Islet (near Floreana) and Devil's Crown, Floreana (Well 1983, Cairns 1991, Reyes-Bonilla 2002, Hickman 2005, P. Humann pers. comm. to C.P. Hickman).
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Range Map:
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 (click for detailed map)
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Countries:
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Native:
Ecuador (Galápagos)
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FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
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Native:
Pacific-southeast
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Population
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Population:
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Before the 1982-83 ENSO (El Niño) event, Glynn and Wellington (1983) reported R. wellingtoni was most abundant (approx. 13% of mean surface coverage) at 15 m depth at Tagus Cove, Isabela. After the 1982-83 El Niño event most R. wellingtoni colonies were destroyed, except for colonies at Cousins and Gordons Rocks (Hickman 2005). P. Humann (pers. comm. to C.P. Hickman) observed and photographed one colony at Cousins and another one at Gordons Rocks in 1993; and in the late 1990s he took a photograph at the Gordons Rocks' colony. Witman and Smith (2003) reported R. wellingtoni inside their permanent photo quadrats at Gordons Rocks in 1999 and in 2000. Since then, R. wellingtoni has not been observed at Gordons Rocks, Cousins or anywhere else, despite targeted searches.
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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R. wellingtoni occurs on under rock ledges, overhangs and ceilings of caves; at depths of 2 to 45 m (Wells 1983, Cairns 1991, Hickman 2005, P. Humann pers. comm. to C.P. Hickman).
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System:
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Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine
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List of Habitats:
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| 9.2 | Marine Neritic - Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs |
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Threats
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Threats:
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Despite no specific information on the thermal tolerance limits of R. wellingtoni, the dramatic reduction in its distributional range immediately after the 1982-83 El Niño event suggests that this species is particularly sensitive to thermal anomalies.
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List of Threats:
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| 6.1.1 | Pollution (affecting habitat and/or species) - Atmospheric pollution - Global warming/oceanic warming (ongoing) |
| 7.3 | Natural disasters - Temperature extremes (ongoing) |
| 9.9 | Intrinsic factors - Restricted range (ongoing) |
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Inside one protected area in the ETP region: Galápagos Marine Reserve (IUCN category VI); Galápagos Archipelago Particularly Sensitive Area (PSSA); Galápagos Island World Heritage Site (UNESCO N (i)(ii)(iii)(iv), and Galápagos Island Man and Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO). Included with corals in CITES Appendix II.
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List of Conservation Actions:
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| 1.1.1 | Policy-based actions - Management plans - Development (in place, needed) |
| 1.1.2 | Policy-based actions - Management plans - Implementation (in place, needed) |
| 1.2.2.1 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - International level (in place, needed) |
| 1.3.2 | Policy-based actions - Community management - Resource stewardship (in place, needed) |
| 3.1 | Research actions - Taxonomy (in place, needed) |
| 3.2 | Research actions - Population numbers and range (in place, needed) |
| 3.3 | Research actions - Biology and Ecology (in place, needed) |
| 3.4 | Research actions - Habitat status (in place, needed) |
| 3.5 | Research actions - Threats (in place, needed) |
| 3.8 | Research actions - Conservation measures (in place, needed) |
| 3.9 | Research actions - Trends/Monitoring (in place, needed) |
| 4.1 | Habitat and site-based actions - Maintenance/Conservation (in place, needed) |
| 4.4.1 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Identification of new protected areas (in place, needed) |
| 4.4.2 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Establishment (in place, needed) |
| 4.4.3 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Management (in place, needed) |
| 4.4.4 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Expansion (in place, needed) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Cairns, S.D. 1991. A revision of the ahermatypic Scleractinia of the Galápagos and Cocos Islands. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 504: 32. Edgar, G. and Garske, L. 2005. Conservation Outcome Indicators for the Galápagos Marine Reserve. Report to Conservation International. Pto. Ayora, Galápagos. Glynn, P.W. and Wellington, G.M. 1983. Corals and Coral Reefs of the Galápagos Islands. University of California Press, Berkeley. 297 pp. Hickman, C. 2005. A Field Guide to Corals of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, VA. 52 pp. Reyes-Bonilla, H. 2002. Checklist of valid names and synonyms of the stony corals (Anthozoa: Scleractinia) from eastern Pacific. Journal of Natural History 36: 1-13. Wells, J.W. 1983. Annotated List of the Scleractinian Corals of the Galápagos Islands. In: P.W. Glynn and G.M. Wellington (eds) Corals and Coral Reefs of the Galapagos Islands, pp. 212-295. University of California Press, Berkeley. Witman, J.D. and Smith, F. 2003. Rapid community change at a tropical upwelling site in the Galápagos Marine Reserve. Biodiversity and Conservation 12: 25-45.
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