Coral crisis: U.S. to protect stressed species

[Haole Girl]

Coral crisis: U.S. to protect stressed species

Warming waters cited, while activists tie die-off to manmade emissions

MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 7:50 p.m. ET May 4, 2006

Elkhorn and staghorn coral in Florida and Caribbean waters — ecosystem anchors for nearly 500,000 years — are at risk of extinctiseron due to warmer waters and other factors, and thus merit Endangered Species Act protection, the Bush administration said Thursday.

The National Marine Fisheries Service said the administration will list the two species as threatened under the law — a listing that would require drafting a recovery plan and protecting critical habitat.

A record 9 percent of elkhorn coral — vital for reef building — died last year and much more was damaged, according to U.S. Geological Survey biologist Caroline Rogers.



• Sewage stress
View images of the U.S. Virgin Islands, their reefs and some of the damage from raw sewage, one of several factors threatening coral...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12631773/