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State of the Reef Report 2004: Crown-of-thorns starfish
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DC Field | Value | Language |
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dc.contributor.author | Hoey, J. | * |
dc.contributor.author | Chin, A. | * |
dc.date.accessioned | 2012-10-24T04:36:56Z | - |
dc.date.available | 2012-10-24T04:36:56Z | - |
dc.date.copyright | 2004 | en |
dc.date.issued | 2004 | en-US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11017/672 | - |
dc.description.abstract | The crown-of-thorns starfish is one of only a few animals that feed on living coral tissue. The starfish is named for the dense covering of long, sharp spines on its upper surface. At low densities the crown-of-thorns starfish is a ‘normal’ part of the reef’s ecology. However, when the numbers of crown-of-thorns starfish on a reef increase to the point where they consume coral faster than it can grow, the starfish can dramatically reduce coral cover, resulting in a major disturbance to the whole system (see Environmental status - corals). This situation is commonly known as a crown-of-thorns starfish ‘outbreak’. Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish have been a concern on the Great Barrier Reef for more than 40 years. Research suggests that the outbreak ‘trigger point’ is around 30 mature crown-of-thorns starfish per hectare of coral reef that has average levels of coral cover. Once crown-of-thorns starfish densities exceed this threshold, the population will begin to consume coral faster than it can grow and is considered to be an outbreak population. | en |
dc.publisher | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority | en |
dc.relation.ispartofseries | State of the Reef Report | en |
dc.title | State of the Reef Report 2004: Crown-of-thorns starfish | en |
dc.type | Report | * |
dc.subject.asfa | Ecosystem disturbance | en |
dc.subject.asfa | Predator control | en |
dc.format.pages | 15 | en |
dc.contributor.corpauthor | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority | en |
dc.subject.apais | Environmental impact | en |
dc.subject.apais | Ecology | en |
dc.publisher.place | Townsville | en |
dc.relation.connectiontogbrmpa | GBRMPA published this item | en |
dc.subject.category | Animals | en |
dc.subject.category | Incidents | en |
dc.subject.category | Weeds, pests and disease | en |
dc.subject.location | Reef-wide | en |
Appears in Collections: | Effects |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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Hoey_etal_2004_Crown-of-thorns_starfish_The_state_of_the_GBR_on-line.pdf | Main document | 4.1 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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