Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2025, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (5): 189-200.doi: 10.11978/2024234CSTR: 32234.14.2024234

• Marine Environmental Protection • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Ecological and environmental effects of boiled and inactivated remains of crown-of-thorns starfish

LIU Jiangen1(), LUO Hongtian2()   

  1. 1. The Sansha Ocean Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Sansha 573100, China
    2. School of Marine Biology and Fisheries, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
  • Received:2024-12-16 Revised:2025-02-20 Online:2025-09-10 Published:2025-10-14
  • Contact: LUO Hongtian

Abstract:

The outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci, CoTS) poses a significant threat to the health of coral reef ecosystems. Artificial removal is considered one of the most practical and effective methods for addressing local outbreaks of CoTS. However, the marine environmental impact of discarding inactivated CoTS after capture is currently unclear. In this study, an in situ experiment was conducted to assess the ecological and environmental effects of boiled and inactivated CoTS remains. The results showed that boiled CoTS tissues decomposed within 2 days, with the skeletal remains breaking down into granular fragments. By the 9th day after returning the CoTS to the sea, 63.20% of carbon, 62.18% of nitrogen, and 44.17% of phosphorus were released into the water, resulting in an increase of (0.08 ± 0.06) mg·L-1 in carbon, (0.08 ± 0.08) mg·L-1 in nitrogen, and a decrease of 0.01 mg·L-1 in phosphorus concentrations. In addition, the dominant bacteria on the surface of the inactivated CoTS primarily belonged to Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. Dominant genera included Sphingomonas (Bacteroidetes), and Ruegeria, Pelomonas, Nautella, and Tenacibaculum (Proteobacteria), which are associated with CoTS decomposition. The boiled and inactivated CoTS remains decomposed rapidly and released nutrients directly. A small amount of inactivated CoTS does not cause significant adverse environmental effects, suggesting this method is a relatively economical and eco-friendly approach for managing CoTS outbreaks.

Key words: crown-of-thorns starfish, outbreak, coral, marine environment, ecological effect

CLC Number: 

  • P764.1