Reproductive investment and fecundity of Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on the Great Barrier Reef

Pratchett, Morgan S.; Nadler, Lauren E.; Burn, Deborah; Lang, Bethan J.; Messmer, Vanessa; Caballes, Ciemon F.

doi:10.1007/s00227-021-03897-w

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…COTS control enhances the resilience potential by mitigating coral loss from starfish predation which increases coral larval supply and recovery [ 29 ]. COTS control also diminishes the reproductive potential of the COTS populations, and thus coral loss at downstream reefs [ 17 , 28 , 36 , 59 ]. This, in turn, allows the reef system to capitalise on low disturbance periods and recover more rapidly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protecting Great Barrier Reef resilience through effective management of crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks

Matthews,

Williamson,

Beeden

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Resilience-based management is essential to protect ecosystems in the Anthropocene. Unlike large-scale climate threats to Great Barrier Reef (GBR) corals, outbreaks of coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS; Acanthaster cf. solaris) can be directly managed through targeted culling. Here, we evaluate the outcomes of a decade of strategic COTS management in suppressing outbreaks and protecting corals during the 4th COTS outbreak wave at reef and regional scales (sectors). We compare COTS density and coral cover dynamics during the 3rd and 4th outbreak waves. During the 4th outbreak wave, sectors that received limited to no culling had sustained COTS outbreaks causing significant coral losses. In contrast, in sectors that received timely and sufficient cull effort, coral cover increased substantially, and outbreaks were suppressed with COTS densities up to six-fold lower than in the 3rd outbreak wave. In the Townsville sector for example, despite exposure to comparable disturbance regimes during the 4th outbreak wave, effective outbreak suppression coincided with relative increases in sector-wide coral cover (44%), versus significant coral cover declines (37%) during the 3rd outbreak wave. Importantly, these estimated increases span entire sectors, not just reefs with active COTS control. Outbreaking reefs with higher levels of culling had net increases in coral cover, while the rate of coral loss was more than halved on reefs with lower levels of cull effort. Our results also indicate that outbreak wave progression to adjoining sectors has been delayed, probably via suppression of COTS larval supply. Our findings provide compelling evidence that proactive, targeted, and sustained COTS management can effectively suppress COTS outbreaks and deliver coral growth and recovery benefits at reef and sector-wide scales. The clear coral protection outcomes demonstrate the value of targeted manual culling as both a scalable intervention to mitigate COTS outbreaks, and a potent resilience-based management tool to “buy time” for coral reefs, protecting reef ecosystem functions and biodiversity as the climate changes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protecting Great Barrier Reef resilience through effective management of crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks

Matthews,

Williamson,

Beeden

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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“…The strategy proposed here (repeated field samples followed by the highly sensitive ddPCR assay and occupancy analysis) for the early detection of CoTS outbreaks can also resolve ecological questions important to understand drivers of outbreaks. For instance, the location and timing of primary outbreaks is still not known (Pratchett et al, 2021), largely due to logistical constraints and limited spatiotemporal resolution of visual surveys. eDNA tools would greatly aid in resolving the specific timing and location of initial population increases, especially when incorporated into an integrated monitoring program.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing an effective marine eDNA monitoring: eDNA detection at pre-outbreak densities of corallivorous seastar (Acanthaster cf. solaris)

Uthicke

Robson²,

Doyle³

et al. 2022

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Thus, the significant genetic differentiation of COTS in distinct coral habitats with slight geographic isolation may be shaped by nutrient concentration, particularly the POC concentration. One adult female COTS can produce approximately 10 million fertilized eggs per spawning (Conand, 1984;Babcock et al, 2016;Caballes et al, 2021;Pratchett et al, 2021), and COTS larvae predominantly feed on mid-sized phytoplankton (e.g., dinoflagellates and pennate diatoms > 5 µm; Ayukai, 1994). However, the larval starvation hypothesis suggests that severe food limitation would lead to high mortality in COTS larvae (Lucas, 1982;Fabricius et al, 2010).…”

Section: Genetic Differentiation Of Crown-of-thorns Starfish Populations May Be Shaped By Distinct Nutrient Concentration In the South Chmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Crown-of-thorns starfish have high fecundity, and a female COTS can produce 30-70 million eggs (resulting in about 10 million fertilized eggs) per spawning period (Birkeland and Lucas, 1990;Babcock et al, 2016;Caballes et al, 2021;Pratchett et al, 2021). Thus, many studies have suggested that COTS outbreaks can be attributed to higher survival rate during early life stages, and that a small increase in the survival rate of the COTS larvae could lead to rapid increases in population size (Birkeland and Lucas, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights Into the Environmental Impact on Genetic Structure and Larval Dispersal of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish in the South China Sea

Chen

et al. 2021

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS; Acanthaster spp.) play a major role in coral reef degradation in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the impacts of environmental factors on the phylogenetic and genetic characteristics of COTS in the northern Indo-Pacific convergence region remains unclear. We used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and microsatellite markers to analyze the phylogenetic relationship, demographic history, genetic diversity and genetic structure of COTS in the South China Sea (SCS) and explored the impact of environmental factors on historical population expansion, genetic differentiation and larval dispersal. There was a clear signature of a population expansion in the SCS using the mtDNA marker. According to microsatellite loci analysis, COTS have high genetic diversity in the SCS. STRUCTURE analysis indicated that COTS in the Pacific Ocean can be divided into four subgroups: the SCS, Western Pacific, Pacific equatorial current affected zone, and Pacific insular atolls populations in the Pacific Ocean. Fst-statistical analysis revealed positive correlations between the Fst values and geographic isolation for all sampling sites. Additionally, there were no clear associations between the Fst values and chlorophyll a concentrations among coral reefs in the SCS; however, there were significant positive associations between the Fst values and particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations within small geographic distances. These results suggest that COTS underwent historical population expansion after the Last Glacial Maximum, possibly followed by coral population expansion. The genetic structure of COTS populations may have been shaped by distinct nutrient concentrations, particularly those of POC, over small geographic distances. Moreover, ocean currents provide a potential dispersal mechanism for COTS larvae in the SCS. This study demonstrates that environmental and oceanographic factors play important roles in shaping the genetic characteristics and larval dispersal of COTS populations in the northern Indo-Pacific convergence region.

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Reproductive investment and fecundity of Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on the Great Barrier Reef

Cited by 11 publications

References 31 publications

Protecting Great Barrier Reef resilience through effective management of crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks

Protecting Great Barrier Reef resilience through effective management of crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks

Developing an effective marine eDNA monitoring: eDNA detection at pre-outbreak densities of corallivorous seastar (Acanthaster cf. solaris)

Insights Into the Environmental Impact on Genetic Structure and Larval Dispersal of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish in the South China Sea

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