Credit: Dione Deaker
Coral are not completely defenceless against attacking juvenile crown of thorns starfish and can fight back to inflict at times lethal damage, new research has found.
This occurs during a period of the crown of thorns starfish life cycle, where small juveniles shift from a vegetarian diet of algae to coral prey. But this change in diet makes the juveniles more vulnerable to attack by coral.
Population outbreaks of adult crown of thorns starfish, alongside coral bleaching is one of the greatest threats to tropical reef habitats.
Video footage shows when the tube feet (small tube-like projections on the underside of a starfish s arm used for movement) of juvenile crown of thorns starfish reaches out to touch the coral, the entire arm curls back to avoid the corals defensive stinging cells. To protect themselves, coral polyps have stinging cells in their sweeper tentacles and outer tissue called nematocysts, that are also used to capture food.
What s New in Virginia 2021
Wondering whatâs latest in Virginia? Browse through our list of Where to WanderLove in 2021 that gives you a sneak peek into what you can expect in Virginia this year. Definitely a good way to begin the year with lots of anticipation.
Major News and Openings
⢠The Crozet Blue Ridge Tunnel opened to the public in November 2020 after nearly 20 years in the making. The trail offers a unique outdoor experience for railroad enthusiasts, hikers, bikers, history buffs, and cave dwellers. From sunrise to sunset, visitors can explore the 2.25-mile trail that passes through an abandoned train tunnel, which is more than 700 feet below the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
The big idea
Giant kelp, the world’s largest species of marine algae, is an attractive source for making biofuels. In a recent study, we tested a novel strategy for growing kelp that could make it possible to produce it continuously on a large scale. The key idea is moving kelp stocks daily up to near-surface waters for sunlight and down to darker waters for nutrients.
Unlike today’s energy crops, such as corn and soybeans, growing kelp doesn’t require land, fresh water or fertilizer. And giant kelp can grow over a foot per day under ideal conditions.
The last thing Sandwich and its swiftly eroding beaches need is for a government environmental agency to begin planting seeds of doubt about this project among Army Corps officials.
The letter, which was sent earlier this month, stated that the sand on Town Neck is far coarser in quality than the sand that would be taken from a borrow site off Scusset Beach.
This conflicting coarseness, CZM wrote, would cause the finer sand to erode more quickly.
“If compatible sediment is not used for the nourishment project, it will limit the longevity and protection provided by the nourishment as well as increasing the potential adverse impacts to adjacent eelgrass, shellfish, and other sensitive habitats,” wrote Lisa Berry Engler, CZM director.
Louise Chapman has been heading up the Volusia County School District’s adjunct science classroom long enough to know that sometimes, students need to see things to understand them.
She’s met students who think that Spruce Creek eventually feeds into the Pacific Ocean. Students who have never been fishing. Students who think the plankton they’re looking at under the microscope will look like the cartoon villain of the same name from SpongeBob SquarePants. Students who don’t want to participate, but then end up asking to come back.
They just don’t know any better. That’s why Project IBIS, which serves as an outdoor, adjunct science classroom for the district’s high schoolers, is so important.