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Fish predators control outbreaks of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish.
Kroon, Frederieke J; Barneche, Diego R; Emslie, Michael J.
Afiliación
  • Kroon FJ; Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, 4810, Australia. f.kroon@aims.gov.au.
  • Barneche DR; Australian Institute of Marine Science, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
  • Emslie MJ; Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
Nat Commun ; 12(1): 6986, 2021 12 08.
Article en En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34880205
Outbreaks of corallivorous Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (CoTS, Acanthaster spp.) have caused persistent and widespread loss of coral cover across Indo-Pacific coral reefs. The potential drivers of these outbreaks have been debated for more than 50 years, hindering effective management to limit their destructive impacts. Here, we show that fish biomass removal through commercial and recreational fisheries may be a major driver of CoTS population outbreaks. CoTS densities increase systematically with increasing fish biomass removal, including for known CoTS predators. Moreover, the biomass of fish species and families that influence CoTS densities are 1.4 to 2.1-fold higher on reefs within no-take marine reserves, while CoTS densities are 2.8-fold higher on reefs that are open to fishing, indicating the applicability of fisheries-based management to prevent CoTS outbreaks. Designing targeted fisheries management with consideration of CoTS population dynamics may offer a tangible and promising contribution to effectively reduce the detrimental impacts of CoTS outbreaks across the Indo-Pacific.
Asunto(s)

Texto completo: 1 Colección: 01-internacional Banco de datos: MEDLINE Asunto principal: Conducta Predatoria / Estrellas de Mar / Brotes de Enfermedades / Regulación de la Población / Conservación de los Recursos Naturales / Arrecifes de Coral / Explotaciones Pesqueras Límite: Animals Idioma: En Revista: Nat Commun Asunto de la revista: BIOLOGIA / CIENCIA Año: 2021 Tipo del documento: Article País de afiliación: Australia

Texto completo: 1 Colección: 01-internacional Banco de datos: MEDLINE Asunto principal: Conducta Predatoria / Estrellas de Mar / Brotes de Enfermedades / Regulación de la Población / Conservación de los Recursos Naturales / Arrecifes de Coral / Explotaciones Pesqueras Límite: Animals Idioma: En Revista: Nat Commun Asunto de la revista: BIOLOGIA / CIENCIA Año: 2021 Tipo del documento: Article País de afiliación: Australia