Cold-Water Coral Red List Workshop

When you think of corals, you likely imagine tropical coral reefs exploding with color and life – but those aren’t the only corals in the ocean. In fact, over half of the known coral species actually live in deeper, darker, and colder waters – known as deep-water or cold-water corals. Like their tropical relatives, cold-water corals also provide important habitat for other ocean animals and are a hotspot for biodiversity. Unfortunately, these important species tend to be less studied and thus efforts towards their conservation are critically important.

In September, 23 participants from nine different countries gathered in Iceland to assess and/or reassess the global endangerment risk of cold-water coral species. This workshop was sponsored by SOSA and included a training led by Prof. Dr. Julia Sigwart to build participants’ capacity to assess species for the IUCN Red List. An additional training was held in cold-water coral taxonomy to help less experienced participants understand the methods for identification and specimen preparation. The workshop was successful in confirming previous taxonomic identifications and identifying several new species. 26 cold water coral species were assessed for the IUCN Red List.