Emily Chan
The last creature you would think capable of brutal violence is a starfish. However, they are more aggressive than they look.
Aside from climate change, one of the biggest hazards to the Great Barrier Reef is the crown-of-thorns starfish.
The destructive species can eat away up to 108 square feet of coral every year. Within a span of 30 years, coral cover has dropped by 50 percent, and the starfish were responsible for half of that decrease.
According to a study published in the journal PLOS One, killing off the starfish can help recover significant portions of the reef.
The starfish grows up to three feet across and has up to 21 arms covered in toxic spines that can inflict painful wounds. These pests are native to the reef, but they are considered a major threat when their populations increase dramatically.
There have been multiple outbreaks of these starfish on the Great Barrier Reef that each lasted for 10 to 15 years. The first one occurred in the 1960s.
In recent years, the starfish have prospered due to a few reasons. For one, overfishing has eliminated many starfish predators. In addition, agricultural runoff has created excess nutrients in the water, contributing to the species’ survival.
Researchers are developing control strategies to reduce the number of crown-of-thorns starfish and buy some time for the reef to adapt. They tested several parts of the Great Barrier Reef for signs of starfish destruction.
The reef stretches over 1,400 miles along Australia’s east coast. It is highly vulnerable to climate change, which has caused the ocean to warm up, leading to widespread coral bleaching and, eventually, coral death. Warmer sea temperatures also provide the perfect conditions for crown-of-thorns starfish to thrive.
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