25 August 2008

Why is there so many crown-of-thorns starfishes?


Why do crown-of-thorns starfish numbers get out of hand? No one knows the answer yet, but one theory is that the runoff from chemicals that are used in farming is allowing more starfish eggs to survive. Another reason could be that the main predator of the crown-of-thorns starfish which is the giant triton(a large sea snail), has been hunted extensively by humans. The giant triton's shell is a popular souvenir.

adapted from: On the job- Sea life scientist-Have you got what it takes to be a marine biologist? by Lisa Thompson

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