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. 2020 Feb 20;15(2):e0228796.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228796. eCollection 2020.

Biogeographical variation in diurnal behaviour of Acanthaster planci versus Acanthaster cf. solaris

Deborah Burn  1 , Samuel Matthews  1 , Ciemon F Caballes  1   2 , Josie F Chandler  3 , Morgan S Pratchett  1
Affiliations

Biogeographical variation in diurnal behaviour of Acanthaster planci versus Acanthaster cf. solaris

Deborah Burn et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS; Acanthaster spp.) are among the most extensively studied coral reef taxa, largely owing to their devastating impacts on live coral cover during population outbreaks. Much of this research has however, been conducted in the western Pacific, although it is now apparent that there are several distinct species of Acanthaster spp. across the Indo-Pacific. The purpose of this study was to test for biogeographical variation in behaviour, comparing between Acanthaster planci at Lankanfushi Island in the Maldives and Acanthaster cf. solaris at Rib Reef on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The extent to which CoTS were exposed (cf. concealed within or beneath coral substrates) was substantially higher (63.14%) for A. planci at Lankanfushi Island, compared to 28.55% for A. cf. solaris at Rib Reef, regardless of time of day. More importantly, only 52% of individuals were exposed at night at Rib Reef compared to >97% at reefs around Lankanfushi Island. Biogeographic variation in the behaviour of Acanthaster spp. was independent of differences in the size structure of starfish and coral cover at specific study sites, but may be attributable to other environmental factors such as habitat complexity or prey availability. This is the first study to explicitly test for biogeographical differences in the biology and behaviour of Acanthaster spp., potentially linked to species-specific differences in the causes and explanations of population outbreaks. However, we did not find evidence at this stage of differences in behavior among regions, rather behavioural differences observed were most likely products of different environments.

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Conflict of interest statement

DB and JFC were employed by Gili Lankanfushi Resort in the roles of ‘Marine Biologist and Environmental Officer’ and ‘Marine Biologist’, respectively, during fieldwork in the Maldives in March 2017. At the time, Gili Lankanfushi Resort provided salaries for DB and JFC but had no influence upon the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, preparation of the manuscript or outcome of this study. This affiliation does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Study site locations highlighted in orange at both Lankanfushi Island and at Rib Reef.
A) The Republic of Maldives located in the Indian Ocean. B) North Malé Atoll. C) Study site located at Lankanfushi Island in the Himmafushi-Lankanfushi-Lankanfinolhu Island Group. D) The Great Barrier Reef located off Australia’s Queensland coast. E) Central Great Barrier Reef. F) Study site located at Rib Reef.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Comparisons between Lankanfushi Island and Rib Reef.
A) Boxplot of CoTS per 100m2 between habitat types. B) Frequency histogram of diameter of observed individuals. The mean is represented by the dotted line. C) Boxplot of diameter of observed individuals between habitats. D) Boxplot of diameter of observed individuals among observation time categories.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Coral cover and composition.
A) Mean percent cover of the benthic community at Lankanfushi Island and Rib Reef. B) Non-metric multidimensional scaling and ANOSIM results for benthic community composition comparisons between the two study sites.
Fig 4
Fig 4
A) Effects plot showing the mean posterior effect size and 95% credible intervals (as log odds) of each predictor variable in the full model (Eqn 1). Black dots indicate variables with "significant" effects. B) Partial effect of diameter on the probability of exposure (P(exposure)). C) Partial effects of this interaction between observation time and reef location on P(exposure). D) Partial effect of behaviour on P(exposure).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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