Optimising crown-of-thorns starfish control effort on the Great Barrier Reef.

ABSTRACT: Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci (COTS), a disruptive coral-eating predator, are responsible for almost half of total coral cover loss on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. As the pressures of climate change continue to intensify the frequency and severity of disturbance events such as cyclones and coral bleaching, efficiently managing COTS outbreaks is essential for reef protection. We aim to understand how the spatial distribution and intensity of crown-of-thorns starfish control - specifically manual culling of COTS by human divers - can impact coral cover on the GBR. We construct a metapopulation model based on a predator-prey model with larval dispersal and removal of crown-of-thorns starfish to simulate and compare spatial control strategies. When outbreaks begin

SUBMITTER: Agarwal K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12262835 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature