Acanthaster planci on the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef's Acant Star Plan had a major impact on the health of coral reefs around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. This harmful echinoderm is eating coral. This should be part of ecosystem health and nature, but the starfish population explosion has caused damage in many areas of the Great Barrier Reef. It takes about 10 to 15 years for coral reefs to recover, and in some areas it will not completely recover and the seeds will be the same.

Small scale invasion of coral starfish (Acanthaster planci), overfishing of sea cucumbers and trucks (collected for export) - Collection of marine organisms

Another common threat to coral populations in the Pacific is the crown of thorns, Acanthaster planci. A. planci is a large starfish that feeds corals by extruding their stomachs onto corals to digest the living tissue layers (Birkeland 1989). These predators have had a serious impact on the coral population in many parts of the Pacific, and the breakthrough of Acanthaster is associated with the field of development and eutrophication increase (Birkeland 1989). Many other carnivores, such as fish and gastropods, also cause damage to coral crowds, but these are often compared with A. planci's serious impact on coral populations.

Acanthaster planci is a carnivorous asteroid whose main prey is coral. It has a sharp back through the human skin that can cause disease. It usually occurs at low density and is nocturnal activity. In the 1960s, an explosion of the population was discovered in the Indian Ocean - the Pacific Ocean - with the big movements of starfish during the day. They are currently not slightly affected, but are predominant predators of coral reefs. For example, in Guam more than 90% of corals die. The interpretation of the cause of the occurrence is controversial. Charles Birkland believes that they are associated with storms that can eliminate nutrients from atolls and stimulate the growth of phytoplankton and thereby increase the survival rate of starfish larvae. Others believe that starvation of larvae is not a limiting factor for larval survival.