Crown-of-thorns starfish, the forgotten predator of corals

Four months have passed since we immersed 800 artificial devices with coral fragments in the village of Sarodrano.

From 8 to 11th of March, we were back to the field to assess how effective the devices were. They already attracted so many fishes (see the video). Seaweeds are also growing on them.
Now, the problem is this crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) which is the main predator of corals. With the recent and continuous events of coral bleaching, the crown-of-thorns starfish and the problems associated with it have faded into the background.What makes these Acanthaster dangerous is that they are voracious and one broken limb can quickly regenerate into a complete individual.

Photo  1: crown-of-thorns starfish on an artificial habitat, eating corals
This time, we took it out of the water and dried it under the sun. We then replaced the dead coral nubbins.

Aina Nomenisoa

The research related to this work is supported by