It is one of the plagues faced by corals: the acanthaster, a starfish recognizable by its very numerous arms bristling with poisonous thorns. Present naturally, it is however harmful when too many individuals are present. They fix themselves on the coral, and devour the polyps, leaving behind only the skeleton ... and the desolation.
Unfortunately, experts do not know the cause of the explosion in the number of acanthasters in an area. One of the hypotheses is the warming of the waters, as explained Pascal Dumas, reef ecology researcher at the IRD, to our partner Brut during a dive off Nouméa, in New Caledonia.
Planet
Australia: Vinegar to eradicate the starfish that devours the Great Barrier Reef
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