Body size and substrate type modulate movement by the western Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster solaris

Pratchett, Morgan S., Cowan, Zara-Louise, Nadler, Lauren E., Caballes, Ciemon F., Hoey, Andrew S., Messmer, Vanessa, Fletcher, Cameron S., Westcott, David A., and Ling, Scott D. (2017) Body size and substrate type modulate movement by the western Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster solaris. PLoS ONE, 12 (9). e0180805.

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Abstract

The movement capacity of the crown-of-thorns starfishes (Acanthaster spp.) is a primary determinant of both their distribution and impact on coral assemblages. We quantified individual movement rates for the Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster solaris) ranging in size from 75-480 mm total diameter, across three different substrates (sand, flat consolidated pavement, and coral rubble) on the northern Great Barrier Reef. The mean (+/- SE) rate of movement for smaller (<150 mm total diameter) A. solaris was 23.99-1.02 cm/min and 33.41-1.49 cm/min for individuals >350 mm total diameter. Mean (+/- SE) rates of movement varied with substrate type, being much higher on sand (36.53 +/- 1.31 cm/min) compared to consolidated pavement (28.04 +/- 1.15 cm/min) and slowest across coral rubble (17.25 +/- 0.63 cm/min). If average rates of movement measured here can be sustained, in combination with strong directionality, displacement distances of adult A. solaris could range from 250-520 m/day, depending on the prevailing substrate. Sustained movement of A. solaris is, however, likely to be highly constrained by habitat heterogeneity, energetic constraints, resource availability, and diurnal patterns of activity, thereby limiting their capacity to move between reefs or habitats.

Item ID: 50869
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1932-6203
Additional Information:

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funders: Australian National Environmental Science Program (ANESP_, Lizard Island CoTS
Projects and Grants: ANESP Tropical Water Quality Hub, CoTS research grant
Research Data: http://dx.doi.org/10.4225/28/5976dd643fff8
Date Deposited: 27 Sep 2017 07:39
FoR Codes: 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 100%
SEO Codes: 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 100%
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