Jun 19, 2022 | COTS, Grants, Research
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) are natural members of coral reef communities and their numbers erupt periodically into outbreaks. Adult starfish – which can reach more than 50 cm diameter – eat the living tissue of corals. When outbreaks occur, COTS consume... 
Mar 28, 2021 | COTS, Grants
Crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster cf. solaris, are natural inhabitants of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) are common coral eating starfish which grow up to 80 cm across, eat 10 square metres of coral a year and can produce up to 50... 
Sep 25, 2020 | COTS, eDNA, Grants, Research
Mitigating the devastating effects of coral eating Crown of Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris, aka CoTS) has been the focus of 21 LIRS based projects over the past 5 years. This extensive and collective research has been funded by the generous $500,000 grants... 
May 9, 2020 | COTS, Grants, Research
Newly settled crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris, aka CoTS) have rarely been studied in the field. This knowledge gap in our understanding of CoTS population and outbreak dynamics has been my research focus for the past several years. My interest... 
May 4, 2020 | COTS, Grants, Research
Early detection of population outbreaks in Crown of Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster solaris cf, aka CoTS) is a necessary precursor to containment. Excellent progress has been made over the past few years, especially in the deployment of DNA technology. The five research... 
Feb 15, 2019 | COTS, Grants, Research
The Crown of Thorns Starfish (CoTS) invoke horror and wonder. They also spur important science. Horror and wonder CoTS (Acanthaster) are indigenous to the Great Barrier Reef. They eat coral. In “normal” periods there are relatively few adult CoTS to be found and...