Dr. Frederieke Kroon looking at a crown-of-thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo by D. Westcott / CSIRO Crown-of-thorns starfish are coral-eating creatures that can have more than a ...

Adorned with spikes and toxins, crown-of-thorns starfish aren’t an easy meal. In fact, it’s long been thought that few animals could eat them. But an analysis of fish poop and stomach contents ...

Research into one of the most persistent coral predators on the Great Barrier Reef has revealed a troubling paradox in reef ecosystems: the crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) appears to thrive in the ...

Researchers have uncovered an under-the-sea phenomenon where coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish larvae have been feasting on blue-green algae bacteria known as "sea sawdust." The team of ...

Crown-of-thorns starfish (taramea) being buried. Image courtesy of Konini Rongo. When the project began in 2020, the team even eschewed scuba gear and simply free-dove for the starfish.

A new theory explains how juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish can destabilise coral reefs. The "degraded reef framework" explains how the loss of live coral, which crown-of-thorns starfish feed off ...

A species of destructive starfish is being culled by researchers to save the Great Barrier Reef. Crown-of-thorns starfish can decimate coral reefs, munching through up to 108 square feet of coral ...

Crown-of-thorns starfish have been reproducing at high levels, causing trouble for coral reefs surrounding Guam, so the more information about them, the better for the island to combat them.