Endangered Species Act: New List of Species Proposed to be Added, from Corals, Chickens, to African Lions

From sea to land, over 60 species are currently on the recommendation list for the Endangered Species Act.

Topping the list are 66 species of coral, which are currently cited as being threatened by climate change's three key threats: disease, warmer seas, and more acidic seas, according to NBC News.

"Climate change and other activities are putting these corals at risk," said the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Jane Lubchenco. "This is an important, sensible next step toward preserving the benefits provided by these species."

The warmer seas and acidic results found in oceans are not good for the sensitive corals as it can weaken the coral's body structure.

Having a coal on the Endangered Species Act is not new as currently the staghorn and elkhorn corals are on the list but as "threatened" not "endangered."

Of the 66 species currently in the recommendations list, 12 will automatically be in the endangered list while 54 will be classified as "threatened."

According to NOAA, corals should be important as "One independent study reported that coral reefs provide approximately $483 million in annual net benefit to the U.S. economy from tourism and recreation activities and a combined annual net benefit from all goods and services of about $1.1 billion."

Meanwhile the Scientific American reports that the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the African lion deserves a spot on the Endangered Species Act. The announcement comes as the lions' population has decline 50 percent during the last three decades and estimates have less than 35,000 currently living.

As the Scientific American's John R. Platt reported, "If African lions are added to the endangered species list-a process that could still take a few years-the listing would not prohibit Americans from traveling to Africa and hunting lions, but it would block hunters from bringing their trophies back into this country."

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has also announced plans to consider having the lesser prairie chicken be classified as "threatened" on the Endangered Species Act.

According to Reuters, "Lesser prairie chickens are considered 'vulnerable,' a step short of endangered, by the UK-based International Union for Conservation of Nature, whose "red list" tracks the conservation status of various species worldwide."

For the corals, African lion, and the lesser prairie chicken, a comment period has been placed before public hearings begin in early 2013.