Variation in Incidence and Severity of Injuries among Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
Despite the presence of numerous sharp poisonous spines, adult crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) are vulnerable to predation, though the importance and rates of predation are generally unknown. This study explores variation in the incidence and severity of injuries for Acanthaster cf. solaris from Aus...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2017-02-01
|
| Series: | Diversity |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/9/1/12 |
| _version_ | 1818035207678197760 |
|---|---|
| author | Vanessa Messmer Morgan Pratchett Karen Chong-Seng |
| author_facet | Vanessa Messmer Morgan Pratchett Karen Chong-Seng |
| author_sort | Vanessa Messmer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite the presence of numerous sharp poisonous spines, adult crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) are vulnerable to predation, though the importance and rates of predation are generally unknown. This study explores variation in the incidence and severity of injuries for Acanthaster cf. solaris from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The major cause of such injuries is presumed to be sub-lethal predation such that the incidence of injuries may provide a proxy for overall predation and mortality rates. A total of 3846 Acanthaster cf. solaris were sampled across 19 reefs, of which 1955 (50.83%) were injured. Both the incidence and severity of injuries decreased with increasing body size. For small CoTS (<125 mm total diameter) >60% of individuals had injuries, and a mean 20.7% of arms (±2.9 SE) were affected. By comparison, <30% of large (>450 mm total diameter) CoTS had injuries, and, among those, only 8.3% of arms (±1.7 SE) were injured. The incidence of injuries varied greatly among reefs but was unaffected by the regulations of local fisheries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:51:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56ea2279b0ec4afcb686d0cbd075a2ba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:51:23Z |
| publishDate | 2017-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-56ea2279b0ec4afcb686d0cbd075a2ba2022-12-22T01:58:33ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182017-02-01911210.3390/d9010012d9010012Variation in Incidence and Severity of Injuries among Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on Australia’s Great Barrier ReefVanessa Messmer0Morgan Pratchett1Karen Chong-Seng2Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaAustralian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaAustralian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaDespite the presence of numerous sharp poisonous spines, adult crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) are vulnerable to predation, though the importance and rates of predation are generally unknown. This study explores variation in the incidence and severity of injuries for Acanthaster cf. solaris from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The major cause of such injuries is presumed to be sub-lethal predation such that the incidence of injuries may provide a proxy for overall predation and mortality rates. A total of 3846 Acanthaster cf. solaris were sampled across 19 reefs, of which 1955 (50.83%) were injured. Both the incidence and severity of injuries decreased with increasing body size. For small CoTS (<125 mm total diameter) >60% of individuals had injuries, and a mean 20.7% of arms (±2.9 SE) were affected. By comparison, <30% of large (>450 mm total diameter) CoTS had injuries, and, among those, only 8.3% of arms (±1.7 SE) were injured. The incidence of injuries varied greatly among reefs but was unaffected by the regulations of local fisheries.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/9/1/12predator removal hypothesissub-lethal predationarm damagebody size |
| spellingShingle | Vanessa Messmer Morgan Pratchett Karen Chong-Seng Variation in Incidence and Severity of Injuries among Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Diversity predator removal hypothesis sub-lethal predation arm damage body size |
| title | Variation in Incidence and Severity of Injuries among Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef |
| title_full | Variation in Incidence and Severity of Injuries among Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef |
| title_fullStr | Variation in Incidence and Severity of Injuries among Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef |
| title_full_unstemmed | Variation in Incidence and Severity of Injuries among Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef |
| title_short | Variation in Incidence and Severity of Injuries among Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef |
| title_sort | variation in incidence and severity of injuries among crown of thorns starfish acanthaster cf solaris on australia s great barrier reef |
| topic | predator removal hypothesis sub-lethal predation arm damage body size |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/9/1/12 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vanessamessmer variationinincidenceandseverityofinjuriesamongcrownofthornsstarfishacanthastercfsolarisonaustraliasgreatbarrierreef AT morganpratchett variationinincidenceandseverityofinjuriesamongcrownofthornsstarfishacanthastercfsolarisonaustraliasgreatbarrierreef AT karenchongseng variationinincidenceandseverityofinjuriesamongcrownofthornsstarfishacanthastercfsolarisonaustraliasgreatbarrierreef |