In March 2004, the Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), requesting the US National Marine Fisheries Service to list three species of coral native to Florida and the Caribbean (elkhorn, staghorn and fused-staghorn coral) as endangered species under the ESA. The ESA requires the federal administration to decide within 90 days if the petition “presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted”, and, if it does, it must “promptly commence a review of the status of the species” to determine within 12 months from petition receipt if listing is “warranted”, “not warranted” or “warranted but precluded by other pending proposals that require immediate attention”. In May 2005, the Service published a proposed rule, stating that its review had found listing to be warranted for two of the coral species – elkhorn and staghorn (ruling that the fused-staghorn was a hybrid species). It cited elevated temperature and hurricanes as two of the three major factors affecting the species, along with disease. Listing would require a coordinated recovery plan, habitat protection, and would require major sources of greenhouse gas emissions to consider the impact of global warming on these corals, and if the impact jeopardizes the corals the emitters will have to change their ways to protect the corals from further harm.

The petition from the web site of the the Center for Biological Diversity

Proposed Rules: Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 88 / Monday, May 9, 2005 / Proposed Rules, 24359, available here