Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is slowly diminishing to death. The coral reef is constantly being attacked by the crown-of-thorns starfish, one of the biggest natural threats to coral reefs. Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) has an incredible appetite and can damage coral reefs to the point of extinction. These starfish, Acanthaster planci, feed on live corals only. This animal has several biological attributes that contribute to its ability to undergo massive population fluctuations through time.
Mike Hall, Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, explained how the rarity of the giant triton sea snail may be one reason why the crown-of-thorns is now such a threat to the survival of the Great Barrier Reef.
The scientists from University of the Sunshine Coa...
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