Thirty Years of Research on Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (1986–2016): Scientific Advances and Emerging Opportunities

Authors

Morgan S. Pratchett, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia
Clemon F. Caballes, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia
Jennifer C. Wilmes, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia
Samuel Matthews, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia
Camille Mellin, Australian Institute of Marine Science; University of Adelaide - Australia
Hugh P. A. Sweatman, Australian Institute of Marine Science
Lauren E. Nadler, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia; University of California - San DiegoFollow
Jon Brodie, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia
Cassandra A. Thompson, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia
Jessica Hoey, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority - Australia
Arthur R. Bos, American University in Cairo - Egypt
Maria Byrne, University of Sydney - Australia
Vanessa Messmer, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia
Sofia A. V. Fortunato, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia
Carla C. M. Chen, Australian Institute of Marine Science
Alexandra C. E. Buck, James Cook University - Townsville, Australia
Russell C. Babcock, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere - Australia
Sven Uthicke, Australian Institute of Marine Science

ORCID

0000-0001-8225-8344

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Diversity

ISSN

1424-2818

Publication Date

9-21-2017

Keywords

Acanthaster, Coral reefs, Disturbance, Management, Population outbreaks, Research priorities

Abstract

Research on the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) has waxed and waned over the last few decades, mostly in response to population outbreaks at specific locations. This review considers advances in our understanding of the biology and ecology of CoTS based on the 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 in addressing 41 specific research questions posed in a seminal review by P. Moran 30 years ago, as well as exploring new directions for CoTS research. Despite the plethora of research on CoTS (>1200 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 proximate and ultimate cause(s) of outbreaks. Moving forward, researchers need to embrace new technologies and opportunities to advance our understanding of CoTS biology and behavior, focusing on key questions that will improve effectiveness of management in reducing the frequency and likelihood of outbreaks, if not preventing them altogether.

DOI

10.3390/d9040041

Volume

9

Issue

4

First Page

1

Last Page

49

Comments

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

NSUWorks Citation

Morgan S. Pratchett, Clemon F. Caballes, Jennifer C. Wilmes, Samuel Matthews, Camille Mellin, Hugh P. A. Sweatman, Lauren E. Nadler, Jon Brodie, Cassandra A. Thompson, Jessica Hoey, Arthur R. Bos, Maria Byrne, Vanessa Messmer, Sofia A. V. Fortunato, Carla C. M. Chen, Alexandra C. E. Buck, Russell C. Babcock, and Sven Uthicke. 2017. Thirty Years of Research on Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (1986–2016): Scientific Advances and Emerging Opportunities .Diversity , (4) : 1 -49. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facarticles/1109.