Coral Reefs - CALL FOR PAPERS: Research advances and innovations in the prediction, detection and responses to changing abundance and ecological impacts of crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS)
Crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS; Acanthaster spp.) are the foremost predators on reef-building corals, especially during periodic population irruptions, where high densities of large starfish can devastate local coral assemblages. Population irruptions of CoTS remain one of the major causes of coral mortality on reefs throughout the Indo west-Pacific. Sustained coral loss across the majority of the world’s coral reef systems necessitates a renewed focus on CoTS, as managing the threat posed by these native pest species is fundamental in ensuring the future structure and function of coral reef ecosystems. This special issue will highlight the latest research advances and innovations to improve understanding and management of CoTS populations, addressing each of the three key components of effective management; prediction, detection and response.
This special issue capitalises on the extensive findings and outputs arising from the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s CoTS Control Innovation Program (CCIP), which was a large multidisciplinary program that facilitated extensive and diverse research on CoTS. This research was focussed on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef but has broad application for understanding and managing CoTS throughout the Indo west-Pacific. We also strongly encourage submissions from researchers, and from research conducted on CoTS, outside of Australia.
Deadline for submission: February 28, 2025
Guest Editors
Professor Morgan Pratchett
Professor - Marine Biology
College of Science and Engineering,
James Cook University,
Townsville QLD 4811, Australia
Email: morgan.pratchett@jcu.edu.au
Associate Professor Suzanne Mills
Associate Professor – Evolutionary Biology and Conservation
École Pratique des Hautes Études - PSL
CRIOBE USR 3278 EPHE PSL - CNRS - UPVD
BP 1013 Moorea, 98729 Polynésie française
Email: suzanne.mills@ephe.psl.eu
Dr Ciemon Caballes
Senior Research Associate
Marine Lab, University of Guam,
UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923
Email: caballesc@triton.uog.edu
Dr Mary Bonin
Director of the COTS Control Innovation Program (CCIP)
Great Barrier Reef Foundation,
Level 11, 300 Ann Street
Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Email: mbonin@barrierreef.org
Dr Cameron Fletcher
Science Strategy Lead - Water Security Program
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO),
Australian Tropical Sciences and Innovation Precinct,
Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
Email: cameron.fletcher@csiro.au
Professor Maria Byrne
Professor - Marine Biology
School of Life and Environmental Sciences,
University of Sydney,
Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Email: maria.byrne@sydney.edu.au