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 ...

"The blue starfish is also a coral reef predator that lives in the same habitat as the crown-of-thorns starfish, but it doesn't produce these uncontrollable outbreaks," said Prof. Satoh.

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 ...

New research suggests crown of thorns starfish can delay their dietary switch from algae to coral for 6.5 years, proliferating on reefs as coral recover.

Coral can fight back against attacking juvenile crown of thorns starfish - using stinging cells to injure and even kill, showing that coral are not as passive as people may think.

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 ...

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.