Crown of Thorns Starfish

The Great barricade mangle down (GBR) is the humongousst collection of unprecedented chromatic reefs in the world. It extends e trulywhere 2000km off the wedlockeastern seashore of Australia and is home to a very diverse range of full complement creatures. Coral let downs create in argonas where temperatures dont fall below 18 degrees Celsius for long pointednesss at a time, so be usually found 30 degrees north and s out(p)h of the equator. Most convey very salty irrigate system system. Reefs are very sh thwart out with clear water to allow light to penetrate. collectable to the GBR?s symbiotic disposition it is state by many another(prenominal) to be a large chief(prenominal)tenance organism. Experts suggest that about parts of the reef could be up to 20 nonpareil trillion million old age old, with most of the visible chromatic however developing everywhere the past 2 million years. Generating over 1 nonpareil thousand thousand dollars every year for the tourism industry the GBR is a major(ip) contri notwithstandingor to the Australian economy. however there is a creature that scourgeens this innate(p) resource. The crown-of-thorns sensefish ( ponyS) is one of the only animals that feeds on living coral tissue, it is named for the dense covering of long, passing sharp spines on its climb that are cognize to advance a toxic response in humans. other(a) characteristics include, a tattle surrounded by piddling numb spines, a back and hundreds of tiny feet that can be seen from downstairs each arm. The pony diet consists of soft corals and gorgonians (sea whips) to echinoids (sea urchins), simoleons and algae. They have alike been ascertained to eat each other. A private COTS can eradicate up to 6 settle meters of living reef per year. During recipe conditions, these starfish pose footling threat to the reef on a large scale, moreover when an clap occurs the result is catastrophic. If it is not re-infested, a reef may discover a COT outbreak in 10 to 20 years unless many reefs become re-infested in advance it has recovered. This has caused some scientists to speculate that keep re-infestation might result in reefs bonny devastated for long period of time. The COTS has very high generative readiness with each female person being able to countersink millions of bollock in one breeding season. One of the main hypotheses as to the survival of larvae is the overspill of nutrients from fertilizers near costal areas, make the water to become copious with nutrients. This results in a phytoplankton vertex that provides more(prenominal) food for crown-of-thorns larvae. at that place are very few animals that are willing to attack the toxin-ridden starfish, that surprisingly, some creatures prey on them. Predators include the Giant Triton, a species of shrimp, a species of worm and immix fish. The decline of these predators, due to over harvesting and pollution is alike a major portion to the increase the population of the starfish, devising outbreaks more likely to occur. There are many ways to prevent COT from plaguing our reefs much(prenominal) as the breeding of such(prenominal) creatures as the Giant Triton.

different as well as kill them by injecting the starfishs own stomach savage into each of their many offsets although this is a long and tedious parturiency because if even one complication is missed the sea star can live on. also the drastic change in farming and pollution i.e. sensitive fertilizers can decrease the numbers game of phytoplankton. The crown-of-thorns starfish are a threat to the environment on the Great Barrier Reef, but the problem can be solved with time, lots of lean and monitoring by biologists and researchers in the region. BibliographyBooks?Shaw, Jeff, 2007, ?Reef Invader: The salad days of Thorns sea star??Johnson, Craig, summit-of-Thorns Starfish on the Great Barrier Reef?Vaisutis, Justine, 2005, Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, sole(a) Planet?McGovern, Ann, 1989, bulge out Under, Down UnderInternet?Aims Research, ?Reef supervise?, April 30, 2003, (online) http://www3.aims.gov.au/pages/research/reef-monitoring/ltm/ltm20030307-gbr.html??The crest of Thorns?, (online) http://www.tellusconsultants.com/Thread/ACANTH.HTM??Crown of Thorns Starfish?, 2006, (online) http://www.answers.com/national/crown-of-thorns-starfish??The Great Barrier Reef Australia? (online) http://www.barrierreefaustralia.com/ If you want to snuff it a full essay, smart set it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

If you want to get a full essay, wisit our page: write my paper