Rewilding the World

Sunset Cup Coral Today’s Endangered All-Star is one among many corals threatened by climate change and environmental damage: Corals are exquisitely sensitive to changes in water temperature, acidity, and salinity. Marine biologists have predicted that half of all coral reefs could be destroyed by 2030. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration leads a Coral Reef Conservation Program that seeks to clean up ocean debris and address other threats. The Sunset Cup Coral—long-lived and slow-growing—is a priority species of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. That plan provides for monitoring the population at the Lundy Marine Nature Reserve off Devon, in the UK.