Are any other organisms apart from corals affected by outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish?
It is now known that outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish may indirectly affect coral reef fish communities. This is not surprising when one considers that a number of different types of reef fish depend on corals as a source of food and as a shelter in which to live and avoid predators. Recent surveys of reefs in the Great Barrier Reef have indicated that the abundance of two species of coral feeding butterfly fishes and two species of plankton feeding fish (which recruit to live corals as larvae) have declined dramatically after the occurrence of outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish. Surprisingly, there was no increase in the abundance of algal feeding fish despite the fact that the reefs then comprised large areas of dead, algal covered corals. The long term effects of outbreaks on fish communities are being followed at present (see 39). Very little is known about the effects of outbreaks on other reef communities.
