Science
Crown-of-thorns enhance their growth by switching diets early – EurekAlert
When juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish switch their diets from coralline algae to corals early after settlement, they exhibit enhanced growth rates for longer and will ultimately get much bigger.
IMAGE: Early stage herbivorous crown-of-thorns starfish camouflaged against the coralline algae that it has been feeding on, with a recent feeding scar directly adjacent.
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Credit: Daniel J. Schultz
Crown-of-thorns starfish are renowned for eating coral and destroying coral reefs–but when juvenile crown-of-thorns first settle in reef environments they start out by eating rock-hard coralline algae. In a new study, Jennifer Wilmes and her colleagues compared the growth between juveni…
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