The sky-defying species in the ocean-starfish, especially the crown-of-thorns starfish, is a nightmare for corals. The starfish will climb on the coral, spit out its stomach and cover the surface of the coral, and then digest the coral polyps, leaving only the white coral skeleton , and then escaped, and the baby polyp with no abdominal muscles could only obediently become the prey.
What's more terrifying is that sea stars have super reproductive ability, a female starfish can produce hundreds of thousands of eggs a year; sea stars also have special regeneration ability, any part of it can regenerate a new starfish.
The unbeatable starfish is the top foodie who is not picky eater! The baby starfish eats corals, shellfish, and sea cucumbers constantly from birth. You can't imagine how much food a starfish will eat in its lifetime.
Paracels in the South China Sea, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and corals all over the world are being threatened by starfish, among which crown of thorns starfish may damage corals beyond the impact of human activities.
If not controlled, the coral will be eaten up by this heaven-defying species! Overseas scientists have tried many ways to control the growth of starfish:
(1) Salvage starfish one by one, but the efficiency is extremely low;
(2) Injecting chemical agents into the starfish body is highly efficient but cannot predict the long-term risk of the agent to the ocean;
(3) The starfish is used to subdue the starfish, the natural enemy of the sea star, but the wild big law snails are becoming more and more rare, and it is difficult to breed them in batches.
But, you know what? Lobster also eat starfish!
The latest discovery by Hainan South China Sea Institute of Tropical Oceanography: lobsters eat starfish, and lobsters do not eat coral! In addition, through the investigation of seaside fishermen, it was found that because the starfish cannot be eaten, the fishermen often feed the lobster with the starfish they catch.
Large lobster is delicious and nutritious, and it is a favorite food of people all over the world. But wild lobsters on the seafloor have plummeted due to overfishing. The cultivation technology of large lobsters is more mature than that of big snails. If some cultured large lobsters are put in the sea star flooded sea, can the growth of starfish be unilaterally inhibited? But the impact this will have on the ecosystems surrounding coral reefs is unknown.
Inhibit the wanton growth of starfish and keep the beautiful coral! I believe that lobster eating starfish can give us more inspiration!