Prof. Dr. Arthur R. Bos, Niederlande / Ägypten
Info
Eating and being eaten is a daily struggle for survival in the world's oceans, whereby nature has always ensured that individual species, apart from natural disasters, have not become extinct.
With the arrival of the "human species", this law of nature, which is millions of years old, has changed dramatically; around 30 percent of all species worldwide have already become extinct or are threatened with extinction over the past 500 years (see link to BUND).
The corals of the oceans are under enormous, destructive pressure, rising water temperatures due to phenomena such as El Nino have repeatedly led to massive coral bleaching for years and the overfishing of the oceans is leading to initially undreamt-of consequences that are having a massive impact on the marine food chain.
As natural enemies such as the sea snail Tritonshorn (Charonia tritonis) or large reef fish such as the giant or titan triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens) have been severely decimated, the mass reproduction of crown-of-thorns starfish has been increasing in recent years (see link to the German Marine Foundation).
Individual crown-of-thorns starfish do not cause much damage to a reef, but mass reproduction of the voracious starfish can quickly lead to the death of stony coral colonies and entire reefs.
In addition to the continuous warming of the oceans, coral-eating starfish contribute significantly to the crisis of coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Until recently, the crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci was considered a single species throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
However, genetic and morphological analyses have shown that there are at least four different species:
Acanthaster benziei in the Red Sea,
Acanthaster mauritiensis and Acanthaster planci in the Indian Ocean
Acanthaster cf. solaris in the western Pacific.
Acanthaster mauritiensis is the least researched species of the genus Acanthaster
Acanthaster mauritiensisis is distinguished by its light blue to "rusty" coloration in contrast to the "electric blue" color typical of Acanthaster planci in the North Indian Ocean.
Acanthaster mauritiensis prefers polyps of Acropora species, but does not seem to disdain soft corals and even sponges.
Etymology: The species name "mauritiensis" refers to the type locality Mauritius, where this crown-of-thorns starfish was discovered.
With the arrival of the "human species", this law of nature, which is millions of years old, has changed dramatically; around 30 percent of all species worldwide have already become extinct or are threatened with extinction over the past 500 years (see link to BUND).
The corals of the oceans are under enormous, destructive pressure, rising water temperatures due to phenomena such as El Nino have repeatedly led to massive coral bleaching for years and the overfishing of the oceans is leading to initially undreamt-of consequences that are having a massive impact on the marine food chain.
As natural enemies such as the sea snail Tritonshorn (Charonia tritonis) or large reef fish such as the giant or titan triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens) have been severely decimated, the mass reproduction of crown-of-thorns starfish has been increasing in recent years (see link to the German Marine Foundation).
Individual crown-of-thorns starfish do not cause much damage to a reef, but mass reproduction of the voracious starfish can quickly lead to the death of stony coral colonies and entire reefs.
In addition to the continuous warming of the oceans, coral-eating starfish contribute significantly to the crisis of coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Until recently, the crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci was considered a single species throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
However, genetic and morphological analyses have shown that there are at least four different species:
Acanthaster benziei in the Red Sea,
Acanthaster mauritiensis and Acanthaster planci in the Indian Ocean
Acanthaster cf. solaris in the western Pacific.
Acanthaster mauritiensis is the least researched species of the genus Acanthaster
Acanthaster mauritiensisis is distinguished by its light blue to "rusty" coloration in contrast to the "electric blue" color typical of Acanthaster planci in the North Indian Ocean.
Acanthaster mauritiensis prefers polyps of Acropora species, but does not seem to disdain soft corals and even sponges.
Etymology: The species name "mauritiensis" refers to the type locality Mauritius, where this crown-of-thorns starfish was discovered.
