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Is the crown of thorns starfish helpful or hurtful to the coral reef?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Hurtful. Currently, there is an overpopulation of these starfish due to a decline in the population of its natural predators. They feed on coral polyps, which would have been fine before the over population (bio-diversity is a good thing), but now there are just so many of the starfish that they are causing damage.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
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What do Crown of thorns starfish do?
the crown of thorns star fish feeds on coral polps
What do the crown of thorns starfish eatt?
the crown of thorns star fish feeds on coral polps
Do starfish eat coral?
Many types of starfish will eat coral. There is one particular species of starfish, called the crown of thorns starfish, that eats coral polyps in large quantities. It is very destructive to coral reefs.
What starfish is harming the Barrier Reef?
A starfish called Crown of Thorns starfish.The Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Acanthaster planci, commonly known as the crown-of-thorns starfish, is a large multi-armed starfish (or seastar) that usually preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). It is a coral reef predator which preys on coral polyps by climbing onto them, extruding its stomach over them, and releasing digestive enzymes to absorb the liquified tissue. An individual adult of this species can eat up to six square metres of living reef in a single year.
Is there any animals endanger in the coral reef?
yes, crown of thorns starfish eats coral reef, humans damage reef from boats, anchors, pollution
What condition does a crown of thorns starfish need to thrive properly?
The crown if thorn starfish lives in the Great Barrier Reef. The Reef provides shelter and food, since the starfish eat coral.
How does the crown of thorn starfish affect coral reefs around Australia?
The Crown-of-Thorns Starfish threatens coral life because it eats coral. This is typically natural, but when overbred, such as on the Great Barrier Reef, they eat the coral, leaving it void of life. Typically the coral regrows itself, but when the starfish is in overabundance, it passes back over the young coral, not giving it time to recooperate. Thus, the coral reefs cannot support life, damaging the ecosystem.
What adaptations do starfish make to coral reefs?
While most starfish feed primarily on mollusks, there are some varieties that prefer other invertebrate animals including hard corals. The crown of thorns starfish has fed on large portions of the coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
What eat coral?
Algae are in a symbiotic relationship with coral.Parrotfish, butterfly fish, angelfish, sea slugs, snails, worms and the crown-of-thorns starfish all eat coral.
Are starfish coral?
No, starfish can move. Coral cannot move. Starfish have a mouth with which to eat. Coral bring in nutrients through tendrils.
What does great star coral eat?
The coral reefs off Australia and Thailand demonstrate the complexity of this problem. Apparently, excess nutrients there resulted in the growth of plants favored by the crown-of-thorns starfish. That species proliferated. This starfish also eats coral in very high amounts. Obviously a large number of them can destroy a reef in a relatively short time span. Algae are in a symbiotic relationship with coral. Parrotfish, butterfly fish, angelfish, sea slugs, snails, worms and the crown-of-thorns starfish all eat corals. members of the scaridae family of fish, carracterised by grinding pharyngeal jaws and a distinctly shaped head, eat algae off the coral on coral reefs, and certain species actually bite the coral and grind it up to consume the plant based algae within the coral, other species scrape the coral off the outside. there are many species of this family within coral reefs, examples include the brightly coloured parrot fish and massive buffalo fish
What sea animal in a coral reef eats coral?
Many of the fish (butterfly's, angels, wrasse, and many others) eat the coral. There are also numerous invertibrates that eat the coral, a few examples are the crown of thorns starfish, and many many kinds of nudibranch(sea slugs).
