Destructive outbreaks of the corallivorous starfish <i>Acanthaster</i> cf. <i>solaris</i>spare coral assemblages in the shallowest reef flat areas in New Caledonia

Dumas, Pascal; Peignon, Christophe; Dumas, Mahé; Bourgeois, Bertrand; Gossuin, Hugues; Fiat, Sylvie

doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsab262

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 36 publications

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“…Field observations during various pilot campaigns in New Caledonia and Vanuatu have confirmed that double injections of vinegar are highly effective in culling COTS, particularly when extreme densities (e.g. > 5000 COTS.ha -1 , Buttin 2018, Dumas et al 2022) place considerable human, financial and logistical constraints on more conventional manual collection methods. However, there are still uncertainties about the physiological processes involved in the death of the COTS starfish exposed to vinegar.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Vinegar injections can be used safely to control outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster solaris) during the peak spawning season

Dumas,

Durbano,

Bourgeois

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Concerns are mounting over the effects of COTS outbreaks, prompting the need for integrated management strategies. Although direct control methods are short-term and localized, they remain one of the few operational tools that can be easily implemented by local actors. Vinegar injections have recently emerged as highly effective method; however their impact on reproductive behavior remains untested. Here, we investigated the short-term spawning response of mature COTS to double injections of household vinegar. First, COTS abundances and reproductive status were monitored during a massive outbreak affecting New Caledonia’s reefs. In-situ and laboratory experiments were then conducted to determine whether injected COTS would eventually release their eggs and trigger synchronized spawning among mature individuals in close proximity. Our results indicated that injections had no significant effect on spawning behavior, even in densely populated aggregations (>4000 COTS.ha-1). In the field, starfish exhibited ripe gonads with high gamete content (up to 35% of body weight) three days after conspecifics were injected. In the laboratory, mature COTS kept with injected, decaying individuals in a confined volume did not expel their gametes after two days. This suggests that vinegar injections could be used at any time, even during peak spawning, without risking synchronized spawning in the affected areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Vinegar injections can be used safely to control outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster solaris) during the peak spawning season

Dumas,

Durbano,

Bourgeois

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The crown-of-thorns seastar species complex: knowledge on the biology and ecology of five corallivorous Acanthaster species

Uthicke,

Pratchett,

Bronstein

et al. 2023

Mar Biol

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Coral-eating crown-of-thorns seastars (CoTS, Acanthaster spp.) are major contributors to the coral reef crises across the Indo-Pacific region. Until recently, CoTS throughout the Indo-Pacific were regarded to be a single species, Acanthaster planci. However, genetic and morphological analyses demonstrated that there are at least four distinct species: Acanthaster benziei in the Red Sea, Acanthaster mauritiensis and A. planci in the Indian Ocean, and Acanthaster cf. solaris in the western Pacific. Acanthaster cf. ellisii in the eastern Pacific needs more taxonomic attention. Here, we review the biological knowledge for each species adapting a pragmatic geographical species definition and using a systematic literature review complemented with more focused searches for individual species. The vast majority of CoTS research (88%) was conducted on A. cf. solaris, with much of this research undertaken on the Great Barrier Reef or in Japan. Many studies of A. cf. solaris are focused on monitoring or documenting incidences of outbreaks, though there is a solid base of knowledge on larval, juvenile and adult ecology derived from field and laboratory experiments. By contrast, most of the published studies on the four remaining species simply document cases of population outbreaks. The major taxonomic bias in CoTS research constitutes a significant limitation for understanding and managing these species for two reasons. First, even for A. cf. solaris, which is the most studied species, limited fundamental knowledge of their biology and ecology constrains understanding of the drivers of outbreaks and hinders corresponding management actions for prevention and control of these events. Second, understanding and management of other species are predicated on the assumption that all CoTS species have similar biology and behaviour, an unsatisfying assumption for ecosystem management.

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Vinegar injections can be used safely to control outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster cf. solaris during the peak spawning season

Dumas,

Durbano,

Bourgeois

et al. 2024

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Concerns are mounting over the effects of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) (Acanthasteridae) outbreaks, prompting the need for integrated management strategies. Although direct control methods are short-term and localized, they remain one of the few operational tools that can be easily implemented by locals. Vinegar injections have recently emerged as a highly effective method; however, their impact on reproductive behavior remains untested. Here, we investigated the short-term spawning response of mature COTS to double injections of household vinegar. First, COTS abundances and reproductive status were monitored during a massive outbreak affecting New Caledonia’s reefs. In situ and laboratory experiments were then conducted to determine whether injected COTS would trigger synchronized spawning among mature individuals in close proximity. Our results indicated that injections had no significant effect on spawning behavior, even in densely populated aggregations (>4000 COTS ha-1). In the field, starfish exhibited ripe gonads with high gamete content (up to 35% of body weight) 3 d after conspecifics were injected. In the laboratory, mature COTS that were held with injected, decaying individuals in a confined volume did not expel their gametes after 2 d. This suggests that vinegar injections could be used at any time, even during peak spawning, without risking synchronized spawning in the affected areas.

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Destructive outbreaks of the corallivorous starfish Acanthaster cf. solarisspare coral assemblages in the shallowest reef flat areas in New Caledonia

Cited by 3 publications

References 36 publications

Vinegar injections can be used safely to control outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster solaris) during the peak spawning season

Vinegar injections can be used safely to control outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster solaris) during the peak spawning season

The crown-of-thorns seastar species complex: knowledge on the biology and ecology of five corallivorous Acanthaster species

Vinegar injections can be used safely to control outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster cf. solaris during the peak spawning season

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