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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Impacts of selective feeding of crown-of-thorns starfish on the coral community in the South China Sea

Yuxiao Li A # , Xueyong Huang A # , Kefu Yu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3409-9945 A B * , Xiaoyan Chen A B * , Fen Wei A , Biao Chen A , Qiucui Yao A C , Zhiheng Liao A C and Liwei Wang A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral Reef Research Center of China, School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, PR China.

B Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, Guangdong, 519000, PR China.

C Key Laboratory of Environment Change and Resources Use in Beibu Gulf, Ministry of Education, Nanning Normal University, Nanning, 530001, PR China.

# These authors contributed equally to this paper

Handling Editor: Christine Dudgeon

Marine and Freshwater Research 74(11) 982-993 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22133
Submitted: 11 July 2022  Accepted: 26 May 2023   Published: 21 June 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context: Crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster spp., hereafter COTS), the most destructive predator of corals, selectively consume specific corals. However, their feeding selectivity varies among reef regions and differs from their feeding preferences in laboratory experiments.

Aims: In this study, the impacts of selective feeding of Acanthaster sp. on the coral community in the South China Sea were explored.

Methods: COTS predation on 701 coral colonies and 24 coral genera during 2018−2019 was evaluated.

Key results: Montipora had a greater scar cover (57%) than did Pocillopora (27%) because of COTS predation. Additionally, the relative abundance of encrusting Montipora (heat-tolerant corals) decreased from 40 to 14%, whereas that of branching Pocillopora (less heat-tolerant corals) increased from 40 to 60%. Moreover, the rare genera Millepora and Astreopora had the greatest scar cover (from 78 to ~100%) and feeding electivity values (from 0.66 to ~0.98), and were thus positively selected by COTS for predation. Further regional comparisons showed four types of feeding selection worldwide.

Conclusions: Less heat-tolerant coral became predominant in the coral community owing to selective feeding of COTS. COTS could consume rare, less-preferred corals by changing feeding selections.

Implications: These findings suggest that COTS not only directly consume coral individuals but also indirectly change the coral community composition, which is potentially related to the vulnerability of the coral community to global warming.

Keywords: Acanthaster, coral assemblages, coral reefs, feeding preference, feeding scar, feeding selectivity, population structure, Xisha Island.


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