Report
Growth of the herbivorous juvenile COTS phase and potential for adult-juvenile semiochemical communication
University of Sydney
2025
Abstract
A report to the Australian Government by the COTS Control Innovation Program.
The crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS, Acanthaster cf. solaris) is a coral predator that, in population outbreaks, causes major coral loss in Indo-Pacific reefs. Current paradigms to explain the cause of outbreaks focus on larval and adult stages. The early herbivorous juvenile stage of COTS and its influence on outbreaks remain poorly understood in this species. The biology and ecology of early juvenile COTS are crucial to understand because they are resilient to food scarcity, exhibit marked growth plasticity and can survive as algae-eating juveniles for years. This is the basis of the juveniles in waiting hypothesis as a contributing explanation of COTS outbreaks and provides the context for this project (CCIP-P-03) as part of the COTS Control Innovation Program.
We investigated the biology of the herbivorous juvenile stage of COTS in three main research areas: 1) growth and ontogenetic change in juvenile morphology from settlement to determine if morphometrics can be used as an aging tool – essential to model COTS population dynamics, 2) juvenile behaviour with a focus on the potential for adult-juvenile semiochemical communication, and 3) the application of ‘omics technologies (transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics and metabolomics) across juvenile ontogeny to characterise the biochemistry and molecular biology of their chemosensory biology and potential identification of agents as new avenues for chemical control of COTS.
Details
- Title
- Growth of the herbivorous juvenile COTS phase and potential for adult-juvenile semiochemical communication
- Authors
- Maria Byrne (Corresponding Author) - The University of SydneyDavid J Beale - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationScott Cummins - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for BioinnovationSymon Dworjanyn - Southern Cross UniversityBenjamin Mos - The University of QueenslandCherie Mottie - Australian Institute of Marine Science
- Publication details
- 56 pages
- Publisher
- University of Sydney
- Date published
- 2025
- Grant note
- The COTS Control Innovation Program aims to accelerate the development of innovative surveillance and control methods to manage outbreaks of coral-eating starfish on the Great Barrier Reef. The Program is a collaboration between the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, James Cook University and The University of Queensland. The Program is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991192343302621
- Output Type
- Report
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