Contrasting size and fate of juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish linked to ontogenetic diet shifts.

ABSTRACT: Population dynamics of organisms are shaped by the variation in phenotypic traits, often expressed even among individuals from the same cohort. For example, individual variation in the timing of ontogenetic shifts in diet and/or habitat greatly influences subsequent growth and survival of some organisms, with critical effects on population dynamics. Few studies of natural systems have, however, demonstrated that marked phenotypic variation in growth rates or body size among individuals within a modelled cohort is linked to dietary shifts and food availability. Population irruptions of the crown-of-thorns starfish are one of the foremost contributors to the global degradation of coral reefs, but causes of irruptions have been debated for decades. Here we demonstrate, based on extensive fiel

SUBMITTER: Wilmes JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7423671 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature