Observations on the Behaviour and the Character of an &lt;i&gt;Acanthaster planci&lt;/i&gt; (L.) Aggregation in a High Latitude Coral Community in South Africa

Celliers, Louis; Schleyer, MH

doi:10.4314/wiojms.v5i1.28502

Cited by 4 publications

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“…The susceptibility rating of landscape components to A. planci predation was considered attributable to coral community composition, coral cover and depth (Table 5). A. planci appears to prefer the deeper fore-reef habitat on South Africa's marginal reefs (Celliers 2001;Celliers and Schleyer 2006). The deep Acropora-dominated community, as well as the mixed hard and soft coral community on FMR, previously provided a habitat for this starfish.…”

Section: Landscape Components 4 Andmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Sponge reef and SMR are unlikely to host an A. planci aggregation by virtue of their low hard coral cover. The Montipora and Pocillopora cluster (7 and III) on the pinnacles of TMR could potentially support an A. planci aggregation, but swell-generated surge compounded by shallower depths might discourage them from colonising this habitat (Celliers 2001;Celliers and Schleyer 2006).…”

Section: Landscape Components 4 Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coral community structure and risk assessment of high-latitude reefs at Sodwana Bay, South Africa

Celliers

Schleyer

2007

Biodivers Conserv

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The importance of studying coral communities at different spatial scales is acknowledged in a growing volume of scientific literature, and principles of landscape ecology were thus used to elucidate the patterns in coral community structure on the highlatitude reefs in South Africa. These reefs are at the southernmost distribution of this fauna in Africa, are surprisingly species rich, and represent a biodiversity peak in this fauna south of the equator, regardless of the marginal nature of the environment. Coral community patterns were identified on and between the reefs at Sodwana Bay, justifying the grouping of reef areas in distinct zones. A number of landscape components were identified, ranging from the entire reef complex (10 km scale), individual reefs (1 km scales) and reef zones, to components that were separated using multivariate statistical analysis of transect data. These components transcended spatial similarities, e.g. the fore-reef on Five-mile Reef was not similar to the fore-reef on Seven-mile Reef, but was rather grouped with the reef flat on Two-mile Reef. This information was ''translated'' into an index of management intervention, based on risk assessment, and was generated using parameters that measure susceptibility to crown-of-thorns feeding, bleaching, diver-related damage and swellinduced breakage. We also assessed was the time elapsed since the last major disturbance and the proximity to the only boat launch site, a proxy measure of continuous disturbance. The risk assessment suggested that conservation management is most needed in the stable and ''climax'' coral communities that are usually characterised by a near-equal mix of hard and soft corals at maximal coral species diversity.

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Section: Landscape Components 4 Andmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Landscape Components 4 Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coral community structure and risk assessment of high-latitude reefs at Sodwana Bay, South Africa

Celliers

Schleyer

2007

Biodivers Conserv

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“…As an important and destructive predator on coral reefs, many studies have examined the ecology and population dynamics in A. plancii (e.g., [11] , [12] , [8] , [13] , [14] ). However, the overwhelming majority of COTS research has been performed on the Pacific species under the assumption that these populations were representative of the entire range.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The failure to recognise the existence of a species complex and extrapolation of Pacific COTS studies to the entire distribution of COTS for both research and management purposes may thus mask potentially important ecological differences among geographically unique lineages, contributing to a lack of understanding of the processes that lead to regional outbreaks in the different COTS lineages [10] . Indeed, although outbreaks are also a reason for concern in the Indian Ocean [12] , [13] and the Red Sea [15] , they do not appear to be as massive or widespread as in the Pacific [16] , a pattern that might be indicative of key biological or ecological differences between the sister-species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeography of the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish in the Indian Ocean

et al. 2012

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BackgroundUnderstanding the limits and population dynamics of closely related sibling species in the marine realm is particularly relevant in organisms that require management. The crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci, recently shown to be a species complex of at least four closely related species, is a coral predator infamous for its outbreaks that have devastated reefs throughout much of its Indo-Pacific distribution.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn this first Indian Ocean-wide genetic study of a marine organism we investigated the genetic structure and inferred the paleohistory of the two Indian Ocean sister-species of Acanthaster planci using mitochondrial DNA sequence analyses. We suggest that the first of two main diversification events led to the formation of a Southern and Northern Indian Ocean sister-species in the late Pliocene-early Pleistocene. The second led to the formation of two internal clades within each species around the onset of the last interglacial. The subsequent demographic history of the two lineages strongly differed, the Southern Indian Ocean sister-species showing a signature of recent population expansion and hardly any regional structure, whereas the Northern Indian Ocean sister-species apparently maintained a constant size with highly differentiated regional groupings that were asymmetrically connected by gene flow.Conclusions/SignificancePast and present surface circulation patterns in conjunction with ocean primary productivity were identified as the processes most likely to have shaped the genetic structure between and within the two Indian Ocean lineages. This knowledge will help to understand the biological or ecological differences of the two sibling species and therefore aid in developing strategies to manage population outbreaks of this coral predator in the Indian Ocean.

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“…Yet, population outbreaks of this species represent the most severe biological disturbance experienced by coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific, from the coast of South Africa to the Gulf of California [ 1 – 5 ]. Outbreaks of COTS cause widespread damage to reef-building corals [ 6 , 7 ] and the cascading effects from coral loss can severely harm the entire coral community [ 8 – 11 ]. In most Pacific countries where local people depend upon coral reefs for their livelihood, COTS constitute a recurrent threat to food security and the coastal communities’ lifestyle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lime Juice and Vinegar Injections as a Cheap and Natural Alternative to Control COTS Outbreaks

et al. 2015

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Outbreaks of the corallivorous crown-of-thorns seastar Acanthaster planci (COTS) represent one of the greatest disturbances to coral reef ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific, affecting not only coral reefs but also the coastal communities which rely on their resources. While injection approaches are increasingly used in an attempt to control COTS densities, most of them display severe drawbacks including logistical challenges, high residual environmental impacts or low cost-effectiveness. We tested a new alternative control method based upon acidic injections of cheap, 100% natural products. We investigated the lethal doses, intra- and inter-specific disease transmission and immune responses of COTS when injected with fresh lime juice (extracted from local Citrus arantifolia) and white spirit vinegar. High COTS mortality was achieved with small volumes: 10–20 ml per seastar induced death in 89%/97% of injected specimens after an average 34.3 h/29.8 h for lime juice and vinegar respectively. Highest efficiency was reached for both solutions with double shots of (2 × 10 ml) in two different areas on the body: 100% mortality occurred within 12–24 h, which is similar or faster compared with other current injection methods. Multiple immune measures suggested that death was very likely caused by pH stress from the acidic solutions rather than a bacterial infection. Contagion to either conspecifics or a variety of other reef species was not observed, even at COTS densities 15 times higher than the highest naturally reported. 10 to 20 l lime juice/vinegar could kill up to a thousand COTS at a cost of less than 0.05 USD per specimen; no permits or special handling procedures are required. We conclude that injections of lime juice and vinegar offer great advantages when compared to current best practises and constitute a cheap and natural option for all reefs affected by COTS.

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Observations on the Behaviour and the Character of an <i>Acanthaster planci</i> (L.) Aggregation in a High Latitude Coral Community in South Africa

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Coral community structure and risk assessment of high-latitude reefs at Sodwana Bay, South Africa

Coral community structure and risk assessment of high-latitude reefs at Sodwana Bay, South Africa

Phylogeography of the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish in the Indian Ocean

Lime Juice and Vinegar Injections as a Cheap and Natural Alternative to Control COTS Outbreaks

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