Living coral remained after most crown-of-thorns scars at One Tree Island
The University of Sydney reports that living coral tissue remained after almost 75 percent of crown-of-thorns feeding scars at One Tree Island. Scars on Acroporidae did not regenerate, while Montipora and Porites did. Xinhua reported living tissue after almost 75 percent of the feeding events examined, at low densities.
Science··Evening
Most feeding scars still held living coral
The University of Sydney reports that living coral tissue remained after almost 75 percent of crown-of-thorns starfish feeding scars at One Tree Island on the Great Barrier Reef. In the field survey published in Ecology and Evolution, scars on fast-growing Acroporidae did not regenerate, while regeneration was seen mostly in slower-growing Montipora and Porites. Xinhua reported that researchers found living coral tissue remained after almost 75 percent of the COTS feeding events examined.[1], [2]
The finding holds only at low density
The authors read the pattern as a moderate disturbance that slows a dominant coral from taking the space. The measurement belongs to protected sites where fish keep the starfish in check, and it does not extend to outbreak densities. Xinhua likewise places the finding at low densities, where the starfish can keep a dominant coral from monopolizing space.[1], [2]
The measurements come from protected areas
The university names the reef, the journal and the corals that regenerated. Xinhua names the same almost 75 percent living-tissue result and the low-density condition. The two pages describe one field result, not a claim that outbreaks help reefs. Xinhua also reports the almost 75 percent living-tissue result. The University of Sydney places the survey at One Tree Island on the Great Barrier Reef and in the journal Ecology and Evolution. Almost 75 percent of the feeding scars still held living coral. Fast-growing Acroporidae scars did not regenerate. Regeneration showed mostly in slower-growing Montipora and Porites. The authors treat that as a moderate disturbance on protected sites where fish keep the starfish in check, and they do not extend it to outbreak densities. Xinhua reports living coral tissue after almost 75 percent of the feeding events examined and keeps the finding at low density.[1], [2]
