Case study : impact of Drupella spp. on reef-building corals of the Great Barrier Reef

Abstract

Drupella spp. are marine snails that feed exclusively on reef-building corals and occur on coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific. They are best known as agents of reef destruction, based on published reports of large aggregations and population outbreaks feeding on corals and leaving dead corals in their wake. Most publicized are outbreaks of Drupella cornus at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, where coral cover was reduced by up to 85 per cent during the 1980s and early 1990s, and Drupella densities at some sites reached 19/m2.