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Description |
Geographic Range [top]
Range Description: This species is found in Thailand, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, South China Sea, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia.
Countries occurrence:
Native:
Australia; Cambodia; Indonesia; Malaysia; Micronesia, Federated States of ; Myanmar; New Caledonia; Norfolk Island; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Taiwan, Province of China; Thailand; Vanuatu; Viet Nam
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native:
Indian Ocean – eastern; Pacific – northwest; Pacific – southwest; Pacific – western central
Additional data:
? Lower depth limit (metres): 20
? Upper depth limit (metres): 1
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
Population [top]
Population: This is an uncommon species that is sometimes locally common.
There is no species specific population information available for this species. However, there is evidence that overall coral reef habitat has declined, and this is used as a proxy for population decline for this species. This species is particularly susceptible to bleaching, disease, and other threats and therefore population decline is based on both the percentage of destroyed reefs and critical reefs that are likely to be destroyed within 20 years (Wilkinson 2004). We assume that most, if not all, mature individuals will be removed from a destroyed reef and that on average, the number of individuals on reefs are equal across its range and proportional to the percentage destroyed reefs. Reef losses throughout the species range have been estimated over three generations, two in the past and one projected into the future.
The age of first maturity of most reef building corals is typically three to eight years (Wallace 1999) and therefore we assume that average age of mature individuals is greater than eight years. Furthermore, based on average sizes and growth rates, we assume that average generation length is 10 years, unless otherwise stated. Total longevity is not known, but likely to be more than ten years. Therefore any population decline rates for the Red List assessment are measured over at least 30 years. See the Supplementary Material for further details on population decline and generation length estimates.
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Current Population Trend: Decreasing
Additional data:
? Population severely fragmented: No
Habitat and Ecology [top]
Habitat and Ecology: This species occurs in shallow, tropical reef environments. It is found in turbid environments and also in clear water habitats. This species is found to at least 20 m.
Systems: Marine
Generation Length (years): 10
Threats [top]
Major Threat(s): The bleaching of coral reefs, which has become increasingly frequent since the 1970s, is related to the ongoing rise in ocean in temperatures as a result of global climate change. Bleaching events, leading to coral mortality, are predicted to become more frequent and severe. Species in the genus Montipora are susceptible to bleaching. However, this species occurs in subtropical as well as tropical waters, providing a possible degree of resilience to threats relating to global warming. Species in the genus tend to be quite fast growing and reproduce asexually by fragmentation, so if they can re-establish after mortality, they can recover fast.
Acanthaster planci, the crown-of-thorns starfish, has been observed preferentially preying upon members of this genus (Colgan 1987). Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) (Acanthaster planci) are found throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Red Sea. These starfish are voracious predators of reef-building corals, with a preference for branching and tabular corals such as Acropora species. Populations of the crown-of-thorns starfish have greatly increased since the 1970s and have been known to wipe out large areas of coral reef habitat. Increased breakouts of COTS has become a major threat to some species, and have contributed to the overall decline and reef destruction in the Indo-Pacific region. The effects of such an outbreak include the reduction of abundance and surface cover of living coral, reduction of species diversity and composition, and overall reduction in habitat area.
In 2006 the Indonesia export quota for all Montipora species was 19,200 pieces. However, this is an encrusting to massive species that is probably not significantly harvested.
In general, the major threat to corals is global climate change, in particular, temperature extremes leading to bleaching and increased susceptibility to disease, increased severity of ENSO events and storms, and ocean acidification.
Coral disease has emerged as a serious threat to coral reefs worldwide and a major cause of reef deterioration (Weil et al. 2006). The numbers of diseases and coral species affected, as well as the distribution of diseases have all increased dramatically within the last decade (Porter et al. 2001, Green and Bruckner 2000, Sutherland et al. 2004, Weil 2004). Coral disease epizootics have resulted in significant losses of coral cover and were implicated in the dramatic decline of acroporids in the Florida Keys (Aronson and Precht 2001, Porter et al. 2001, Patterson et al. 2002). In the Indo-Pacific, disease is also on the rise with disease outbreaks recently reported from the Great Barrier Reef (Willis et al. 2004), Marshall Islands (Jacobson 2006) and the northwestern Hawaiian Islands (Aeby 2006). Increased coral disease levels on the GBR were correlated with increased ocean temperatures (Willis et al. 2007) supporting the prediction that disease levels will be increasing with higher sea surface temperatures. Escalating anthropogenic stressors combined with the threats associated with global climate change of increases in coral disease, frequency and duration of coral bleaching and ocean acidification place coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific at high risk of collapse.
Localized threats to corals include fisheries, human development (industry, settlement, tourism, and transportation), changes in native species dynamics (competitors, predators, pathogens and parasites), invasive species (competitors, predators, pathogens and parasites), dynamite fishing, chemical fishing, pollution from agriculture and industry, domestic pollution, sedimentation, and human recreation and tourism activities.
The severity of these combined threats to the global population of each individual species is not known.
Conservation Actions [top]
Conservation Actions: All corals are listed on CITES Appendix II. Parts of the species’ range fall within Marine Protected Areas.
Recommended measures for conserving this species include research in taxonomy, population, abundance and trends, ecology and habitat status, threats and resilience to threats, restoration action; identification, establishment and management of new protected areas; expansion of protected areas; recovery management; and disease, pathogen and parasite management. Artificial propagation and techniques such as cryo-preservation of gametes may become important for conserving coral biodiversity.
Having timely access to national-level trade data for CITES analysis reports would be valuable for monitoring trends this species. The species is targeted by collectors for the aquarium trade and fisheries management is required for the species, e.g., MPAs, quotas, size limits, etc. Consideration of the suitability of species for aquaria should also be included as part of fisheries management, and population surveys should be carried out to monitor the effects of harvesting. Recommended conservation measures include population surveys to monitor the effects of collecting for the aquarium trade, especially in Indonesia.
Citation: DeVantier, L., Hodgson, G., Huang, D., Johan, O., Licuanan, A., Obura, D., Sheppard, C., Syahrir, M. & Turak, E. 2008. Montipora turtlensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T133450A3751322. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T133450A3751322.en. Downloaded on 06 June 2018.
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