Potential Enhanced Survivorship of Crown of Thorns Starfish Larvae due to Near-Annual Nutrient Enrichment during Secondary Outbreaks on the Central Mid-Shelf of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Brodie, Jon; Devlin, Michelle; Lewis, Stephen E.

doi:10.3390/d9010017

Cited by 48 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Peer-reviewed version available at Diversity 2017, 9, 41; doi:10.3390/d9040041 6 of 50 (Brodie et al 2005;Fabricius et al 2010) and/ or plays an important role in fuelling subsequent secondary outbreaks Brodie et al 2017). One of the foremost limitations in understanding purported links between nutrient enrichment, increases in phytoplankton abundance or changes in phytoplankton composition, and the increased survivorship and settlement of Acanthaster spp., is the lack of systematic monitoring of relevant variables.…”

Section: Questions 1 and 3 (Larvae And Juveniles) -Are High Nutrient Comentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather, persistent nutrient enrichment may be important in sustaining the proliferation and spread of outbreaks (secondary outbreaks) once they have become established at discrete reef locations (Brodie et al 2017). If food is limiting, however, we might expect successive waves of outbreaks to peter out, especially in areas of the central GBR which have lowest nutrient inputs (but see Vanhatalo et al 2016).…”

Section: Question 2 (Larvae and Juveniles) -Do These Types Of Conditimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of Proteomonas sulcata in both these studies (Wolfe et al 2015a;Pratchett et al 2017b) was criticised by Brodie et al (2017) because of the very low chl-a concentration of this phytoplankton species. In addition, the high cell numbers (~100,000 cells ml -1 ) are unlikely to occur in the field; even under flood conditions, algal cell numbers rarely exceed 1000 cells ml -1 (Devlin et al 2013).…”

Section: Questions 1 and 3 (Larvae And Juveniles) -Are High Nutrient Comentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taken together, these results demonstrate that chl-a levels between 0.4 and 1.0 μg L -1 may be the optimal range for larval survival and development. Based on limited available data, this range has been found occasionally on the mid-shelf sections of the GBR between Townsville and Lizard, but more regularly over the Austral summer.The use of Proteomonas sulcata in both these studies (Wolfe et al 2015a;Pratchett et al 2017b) was criticised by Brodie et al (2017) because of the very low chl-a concentration of this phytoplankton species. In addition, the high cell numbers (~100,000 cells ml -1 ) are unlikely to occur in the field; even under flood conditions, algal cell numbers rarely exceed 1000 cells ml -1 (Devlin et al 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further studies need to focus on energy content (or at least organic carbon content) of food organisms (see Mellin et al 2017). Debate continues as to whether terrestrial runoff promotes primary outbreaks on the GBR Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 22 August 2017 doi:10.20944/preprints201708.0076.v1Peer-reviewed version available at Diversity 2017, 9, 41; doi:10.3390/d9040041 6 of 50 (Brodie et al 2005;Fabricius et al 2010) and/ or plays an important role in fuelling subsequent secondary outbreaks Brodie et al 2017). One of the foremost limitations in understanding purported links between nutrient enrichment, increases in phytoplankton abundance or changes in phytoplankton composition, and the increased survivorship and settlement of Acanthaster spp., is the lack of systematic monitoring of relevant variables.…”

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confidence: 99%

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30 Years of Research on Crown-of-thorns Starfish (1986-2016): Scientific Advances and Emerging Opportunities

Pratchett¹,

Caballes²,

Wilmes³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Abstract:Research on the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) has waxed and waned over the last few decades, mostly in accordance with the occurrence of population outbreaks at key locations, such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef. This review considers advances in our understanding of the biology and ecology of CoTS based on the latest resurgence of research interest, which culminated in this current special issue on the Biology, Ecology and Management of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish. More specifically, this review considers progress against 41 specific research questions posed in the seminal review by P. Moran 30 years ago, as well as exploring new directions for CoTS research. Despite the plethora of research on CoTS (> 1,200 research articles), there are persistent knowledge gaps that constrain effective management of outbreaks. Although directly addressing some of these questions will be extremely difficult, there have been considerable advances in understanding the biology of CoTS, if not the proximal and ultimate cause(s) of outbreaks. Moving forward, researchers need to embrace new technologies and opportunities to advance understanding of CoTS biology and behaviour, with focus given to key questions that will improve effectiveness of management to reduce the frequency and likelihood of future outbreaks, if not preventing them altogether.Keywords: Acanthaster; coral reefs, disturbance; management; population outbreaks; research priorities Peer-reviewed version available at Diversity 2017, 9, 41; doi:10.3390/d90400412 of 50 BackgroundCrown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS; Acanthaster spp., excluding A. brevispinus) are renowned for their capacity to devastate coral reef ecosystems . This is primarily because local densities of CoTS can increase from normally very low densities (<1 starfish.ha -1 ) to extremely high densities (>1,000 starfish.ha -1 ) during periodic population outbreaks (e.g. Chesher 1969). Moreover, CoTS are one of the largest and most efficient predators on scleractinian corals (Birkeland 1989). Whereas most other individual coral-feeding organisms (e.g., Chaetodon butterflyfishes, and Drupella snails) cause only localised injuries or tissue-loss (Cole et al. 2008;Rotjan and Lewis 2008), adult CoTS can kill entire corals, including relatively large colonies. High densities of CoTS will therefore, cause rapid and extensive coral depletion. In French Polynesia, for example, high densities of CoTS caused systematic coral loss around the entire circumference of the island of Moorea, killing >96% of coral between 2005(Kayal et al. 2012). More broadly, outbreaks of Acanthaster spp. are a major contributor to sustained declines in coral cover and degradation of coral reefs at many locations throughout the Indo west-Pacific (Osborne et al. 2011;Trapon et al. 2011;De'ath et al. 2012).While there has been considerable research, and a larger number of scientific articles (>940) focused on Acanthaster spp., extending back to the 1960s (Goreau 1964;Pearson and Endean 1969), research interest (and fundin...

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Section: Questions 1 and 3 (Larvae And Juveniles) -Are High Nutrient Comentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Question 2 (Larvae and Juveniles) -Do These Types Of Conditimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Questions 1 and 3 (Larvae And Juveniles) -Are High Nutrient Comentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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30 Years of Research on Crown-of-thorns Starfish (1986-2016): Scientific Advances and Emerging Opportunities

Pratchett¹,

Caballes²,

Wilmes³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Cumulative impacts across Australia’s Great Barrier Reef: a mechanistic evaluation

Bozec

Hock

Mason

et al. 2021

Ecological Monographs

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Cumulative impacts assessments on marine ecosystems have been hindered by the difficulty of collecting environmental data and identifying drivers of community dynamics beyond local scales. On coral reefs, an additional challenge is to disentangle the relative influence of multiple drivers that operate at different stages of coral ontogeny. We integrated coral life history, population dynamics, and spatially explicit environmental drivers to assess the relative and cumulative impacts of multiple stressors across 2,300 km of the world's largest coral reef ecosystem, Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Using literature data, we characterized relationships between coral life history processes (reproduction, larval dispersal, recruitment, growth, and mortality) and environmental variables. We then simulated coral demographics and stressor impacts at the organism (coral colony) level on >3,800 individual reefs linked by larval connectivity and exposed to temporally and spatially realistic regimes of acute (crownof-thorns starfish outbreaks, cyclones, and mass coral bleaching) and chronic (water-quality) stressors. Model simulations produced a credible reconstruction of recent (2008-2020) coral trajectories consistent with monitoring observations, while estimating the impacts of each stressor at reef and regional scales. Overall, simulated coral populations declined by one-third across the GBR, from an average of ~29% to ~19% hard coral cover. By 2020, <20% of the GBR had coral cover higher than 30%, a status of reef health corroborated by scarce and sparsely distributed monitoring data. Reef-wide annual rates of coral mortality were driven by bleaching (48%) ahead of cyclones (41%) and starfish predation (11%). Beyond the reconstructed status and trends, the model enabled the emergence of complex interactions that compound the effects of multiple stressors while promoting a mechanistic understanding of coral cover dynamics. Drivers of coral cover growth were identified; notably, water quality (suspended sediments) was estimated to delay recovery for at least 25% of inshore reefs. Standardized rates of coral loss and recovery allowed the integration of all cumulative impacts to determine the equilibrium cover for each reef. This metric, combined with maps of impacts, recovery potential, water-quality thresholds, and reef state metrics, facilitates strategic spatial planning and resilience-based management across the GBR.

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Realising the Circular Phosphorus Economy delivers for Sustainable Development Goals

Walsh

Schenk

Schmidt

2022

Preprint

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Potential Enhanced Survivorship of Crown of Thorns Starfish Larvae due to Near-Annual Nutrient Enrichment during Secondary Outbreaks on the Central Mid-Shelf of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Cited by 48 publications

References 63 publications

30 Years of Research on Crown-of-thorns Starfish (1986-2016): Scientific Advances and Emerging Opportunities

30 Years of Research on Crown-of-thorns Starfish (1986-2016): Scientific Advances and Emerging Opportunities

Cumulative impacts across Australia’s Great Barrier Reef: a mechanistic evaluation

Realising the Circular Phosphorus Economy delivers for Sustainable Development Goals

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