Joint estimation of crown of thorns (Acanthaster planci) densities on the Great Barrier Reef
نویسندگان
چکیده
Crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS; Acanthaster spp.) are an outbreaking pest among many Indo-Pacific coral reefs that cause substantial ecological and economic damage. Despite ongoing CoTS research, there remain critical gaps in observing CoTS populations and accurately estimating their numbers, greatly limiting understanding of the causes and sources of CoTS outbreaks. Here we address two of these gaps by (1) estimating the detectability of adult CoTS on typical underwater visual count (UVC) surveys using covariates and (2) inter-calibrating multiple data sources to estimate CoTS densities within the Cairns sector of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We find that, on average, CoTS detectability is high at 0.82 [0.77, 0.87] (median highest posterior density (HPD) and [95% uncertainty intervals]), with CoTS disc width having the greatest influence on detection. Integrating this information with coincident surveys from alternative sampling programs, we estimate CoTS densities in the Cairns sector of the GBR averaged 44 [41, 48] adults per hectare in 2014.
منابع مشابه
Population Study Survey of Acanthaster planci, the Crown-of-Thorns starfish on the North-West Coast Moorea, French Polynesia
Outbreaks of Acanthaster planci, the Crown-of-Thorns starfish, have been known to cause considerable amounts of damage to coral reef systems. Surveys of A. planci populations in Moorea, French Polynesia in 2004 indicated the island was experiencing the beginning stages of an outbreak. The goal of the present study was to survey the population densities of these sea stars at 3 sites on the north...
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