The sensitivity of embryos and larvae of the crown-of-thorns sea star to copper and zinc: with respect to conditions experienced on the Great Barrier Reef and water quality guidelines.

Our understanding of the ecotoxicology for tropical marine species is limited. We investigated the impacts of copper (0.1-6 µg/L) and zinc (2.

Echidnas of the Sea: The Defensive Behavior of Juvenile and Adult Crown-of-Thorns Sea Stars.

AbstractCrown-of-thorns sea stars are one of the most ecologically important tropical marine invertebrates, with boom-bust population dynamics that influence the community structure of coral reefs. Although predation is likely to influence the development of population outbreaks, little is known about the defensive behavior of crown-of-thorns sea stars. Righting behavior after being overturned, a key defensive response in echinoderms, was investigated for the newly settled herbivorous juvenile, the corallivorous juvenile, and adult stages of crown-of-thorns sea stars.

Developing in a warming intertidal, negative carry over effects of heatwave conditions in development to the pentameral starfish in Parvulastra exigua.

Ocean warming and increasing incidence of marine heat waves (MHW) are having far-reaching impacts on coastal ecosystems. The small intertidal asterinid starfish, Parvulastra exigua, in south-eastern Australia, occurs in a global warming hotspot. Development occurs in the intertidal as this species lays eggs and has benthic larvae.