“Crown of thorns” of Daphnia

Crown-of-thorns starfish

Figure 1. Crown-of-thorns starfish and their legacy. (A) A group of crown-of-thorns starfish converge on the remaining small piece of living coral tissue (lc) on the surface of a tabular coral (Acropora sp.) The other coral tissue has just been consumed by the starfish so that only the white skeleton remains (cs). (B) After crown-of-thorns starfish have removed the living coral tissue, the expo...

Model to manage and reduce crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks

The crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) Acanthaster planci is one of the largest causes of coral cover loss on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Numerous trophic-mediated and anthropogenic-related hypotheses, singly or in combination, have been proposed to explain COTS outbreaks, but the evidence remains inconclusive. There is, however, an urgent need for effective control and mitigation strategies. ...

Smooth muscle contractile action of the venom from the crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci.

The fraction (venom B) of spine venom from the crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) caused contractions of the uterus of rats and enhanced vascular permeability in rabbits. The venom B-induced contraction of the smooth muscle was depressed by inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis such as indomethacin or aspirin, but not by the anticholinergic agent, atropine. The fraction with the uter...

Interactive Effects of Endogenous and Exogenous Nutrition on Larval Development for Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish

Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish are often attributed to step-changes in larval survivorship following anomalous increases in nutrients and food availability. However, larval growth and development is also influenced by the nutritional condition of spawning females, such that maternal provisioning may offset limitations imposed by limited access to exogenous sources of nutrients during the...

Photodegradation of the molluscicidal latex of "crown-of-thorns" (Euphorbia milii var hislopii).