Abstract:Outbreak populations of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS; Acanthaster spp.) cause widespread coral mortality. High nutrient river runoff generates phytoplankton blooms that potentially enhance larval food levels and success leading to outbreaks, a link posited by the terrestrial runoff hypothesis (TRH). Runoff plumes also lower salinity, although the parallel and potentially negative effects of freshening on COTS larvae have not been considered. The impact of decreased salinity across a range of food levels on l… Show more
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