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Alert…the reef is under attack!! |
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.jpg "Image") They are under attack! Maybe this is a good expression to describe the current coral reef condition in Kepulauan Banyak, Aceh. Based on the survey undertaken by WCS Marine Program Indonesia and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (ARCCoERS), the coral reefs in Kepulauan Banyak have suffered from massive outbreaks of the coral eating Crown-of-Thorn (COT) starfish, Acanthaster planci.
From 17 sites surveyed, COT was found almost at every site. At some locations, 95% of existing coral colonies were dead and in some locations where corals were healthy, COT had started to invade. Acanthaster planci is one of several Indo-Pacific asteroids that prey on coral polyps. Acanthaster undergoes occasional population outbreaks that have severely reduced coral cover on many reefs over the last 30 years. Damage was reported from many reefs in the world. One example was in Great Barrier Reef that has occurred over some 1000 km of reef.
The causes of these outbreaks remain obscure. The outbreak may be natural phenomena with a long history of occurrence, or they may be relatively recent in origin, brought about as a result of human activities. A combination of both explanations is also possible. (Johnson and Babcock, 1994). Johnson, G. and R.C. Babcock. 1994. Temperature and the larval ecology of the crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster Planci. Biology Bulletin. 187: 304-308. .jpg "Image") .jpg "Image")
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