Diet flexibility and growth of the early herbivorous juvenile crown-of-thorns sea star, implications for its boom-bust population dynamics

PloS One
Dione J DeakerMaria Byrne

Abstract

The ecology of the early herbivorous juvenile stage of the crown-of-thorns sea star (COTS, Acanthaster spp.) is poorly understood, yet the success of this life stage is key to generating population outbreaks that devastate coral reefs. Crustose coralline algae (CCA) has been considered to be the main diet of herbivorous juveniles. In this study, we show that COTS can avail of a range of algal food. Juveniles were reared on CCA, Amphiroa sp., and biofilm, and survived for 10 months on all three diets. The juveniles fed CCA and Amphiroa sp. reached 15-16.5 mm diameter at ~ 6 months and maintained this size for the rest the experiment (an additional ~4 months). Juveniles fed biofilm grew more slowly and to a smaller maximum size (~3 mm diameter). However, when juveniles were switched from biofilm to CCA they resumed growth to a new asymptotic size (~13.5 mm, 13-20 months). In diet choice experiments, juveniles did not show a preference between Amphiroa sp. and CCA, but generally avoided biofilm. Our results show that juvenile COTS grew equally well on CCA and Amphiroa sp. and can subsist on biofilm for months. Some juveniles, mostly from the biofilm diet treatment, decreased in size for a time and this was followed by recovery. Fl...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1995·Annual Review of Microbiology·J W CostertonH M Lappin-Scott
Jul 23, 2008·Current Biology : CB·Hugh Sweatman
Oct 4, 2008·Biology Letters·Catherine VoglerGert Wörheide
Oct 3, 2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Glenn De'athMarji Puotinen
Oct 16, 2015·Marine Pollution Bulletin·Scott A Wooldridge, Jon E Brodie
Apr 4, 2016·Ecology Letters·Camille MellinM Julian Caley

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
environmental stress

Software Mentioned

nlme
emmeans
survminer
survival
R
SPSS
ImageJ
PMCMR
COTS

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