Recent
"early
warning"
surveys
suggest
a
crown-of-thorns
starfish
outbreak
is not
an
imminent
threat
to
corals
on the
Great
Barrier
Reef.
Researchers
from
the
Australian
Institute
of
Marine
Science
(AIMS)
Great
Barrier
Reef
Long-term
Monitoring
Team
have
been
undertaking
surveys
of
reefs
between
Cairns
and
Cooktown
which
are
thought
to be
the
source
of the
coral
eating
pest.
|
The
surveys
were
funded
in
part
by
the
COTS
Alert
programme,
one
of
the
programs
under
the
Australian
Government’s
new
Marine
and
Tropical
Science
Research
Facility
(MTSRF)
funding
regime
which
has
granted
$1.3
million
for
AIMS
to
continue
its
research
in
the
Great
Barrier
Reef.
AIMS
project
leader,
Dr
Hugh
Sweatman,
said
the
purpose
of
"COTS
Alert"
is
to
provide
early
warning
of
another
decade-long
series
of
outbreaks
and
to
provide
the
opportunity
for
tactical
responses
and
more
focused
control
of
these
pest
populations
at
their
source. |
Crown-of-thorns
starfish
feeding
Image:
AIMS
LTMP |
"Since
the
crown-of-thorns
starfish
first
came
to
public
attention
in the
1960s,
new
waves
of
outbreaks
have
appeared
in the
region
north
of
Cairns
about
every
15
years.
"The
last
wave
of
outbreaks
was
first
detected
in
that
area
around
15
years
ago,
so
history
suggests
we are
due
for
another
cycle
of
COTS
outbreaks,"
Dr
Sweatman
said.
The
COTS
move
in
waves
down
the
Great
Barrier
Reef,
originating
in the
region
just
north
of
Cairns.
The
last
wave
of
outbreaks
has
now
reached
reefs
as far
south
as the
Whitsundays.
Dr
Sweatman
says
lack
of
evidence
for
another
outbreak
is
promising
as the
corals
will
have
longer
to
recover.
"Our
recently
completed
surveys
targeting
northern,
mid-shelf
reefs
detected
only 3
COTS
on 43
reefs."
The
extensive
surveys
did
not
find
any
evidence
of
aggregations
of
adult
starfish
that
might
initiate
another
wave
of
outbreaks.
Dr
Russell
Reichelt
from
the
Reef
and
Rainforest
Research
Centre
said
"this
information
from
AIMS
is
good
news
for
reefs
already
being
impacted
by
climate
change
and
declining
water
quality."
The
COTS
Alert
programme
will
continue
to
monitor
for
potential
outbreaks
and
keep
the
tourism
industry
and
management
agencies
informed
of
findings.
"Climate
change
and
water
quality
impacts
on
coral
reefs
are
also
being
investigated
under
the
MTSRF.
Findings
from
MTSRF
projects
will
be
synthesised
to
provide
an up
to
date
indication
of the
resilience
of the
Great
Barrier
Reef
to
such
threats,"
Dr
Reichelt
said.
