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Monitoring and assessing a 2-year outbreak of the corallivorous seastar Acanthaster planci in Ari Atoll, Republic of Maldives
Outbreaks of the corallivorous crown-of-thorns seastars have received increasing attention due to their negative impacts on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. However, outbreaks in remote and dislocated islands are still poorly understood. This study aims to begin filling informational gaps rega...
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Published in: | Environmental monitoring and assessment 2018-06, Vol.190 (6), p.344-12, Article 344 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Outbreaks of the corallivorous crown-of-thorns seastars have received increasing attention due to their negative impacts on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. However, outbreaks in remote and dislocated islands are still poorly understood. This study aims to begin filling informational gaps regarding outbreaks of
Acanthaster planci
in the remote islands of the central Ari Atoll, Republic of Maldives. The population of
A. planci
was monitored during three periods over 2 years (2015–2016) to evaluate variations in abundance and to characterise size structure and feeding behaviour. The outbreak appeared to be severe and active throughout the entire study period. The size structure analysis revealed a multimodal distribution dominated by individuals between 20 and 30 cm, suggesting that the outbreak may have resulted from a few nearby mass spawning events. Additionally, the most abundant live coral was
Porites
, which was also the most consumed genus; however, the electivity index showed a preference for corals of the genera
Favites
and
Pavona
. Finally, we also highlighted the need for more geographically extended surveys to better understand local patterns regarding outbreaks of
A. planci
in the Republic of Maldives. |
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ISSN: | 0167-6369 1573-2959 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10661-018-6661-z |