scholarly journals Peer Review #2 of "Joint estimation of crown of thorns (Acanthaster planci) densities on the Great Barrier Reef (v0.1)"

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Kayal
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Joint Estimation ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Acanthaster Planci

scholarly journals Joint estimation of crown of thorns (Acanthaster planci) densities on the Great Barrier Reef

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2310 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Aaron MacNeil ◽  
Camille Mellin ◽  
Morgan S. Pratchett ◽  
Jessica Hoey ◽  
Kenneth R.N. Anthony ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Joint Estimation ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Acanthaster Planci ◽  
Posterior Density ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Disc Width ◽  
Highest Posterior Density

Crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS;Acanthaster spp.) are an outbreaking pest among many Indo-Pacific coral reefs that cause substantial ecological and economic damage. Despite ongoing CoTS research, there remain critical gaps in observing CoTS populations and accurately estimating their numbers, greatly limiting understanding of the causes and sources of CoTS outbreaks. Here we address two of these gaps by (1) estimating the detectability of adult CoTS on typical underwater visual count (UVC) surveys using covariates and (2) inter-calibrating multiple data sources to estimate CoTS densities within the Cairns sector of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We find that, on average, CoTS detectability is high at 0.82 [0.77, 0.87] (median highest posterior density (HPD) and [95% uncertainty intervals]), with CoTS disc width having the greatest influence on detection. Integrating this information with coincident surveys from alternative sampling programs, we estimate CoTS densities in the Cairns sector of the GBR averaged 44 [41, 48] adults per hectare in 2014.

Distribution of Acanthaster planci outbreaks on the Great Barrier Reef between 1966 and 1989

Coral Reefs ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Reichelt ◽  
R. H. Bradbury ◽  
P. J. Moran
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Acanthaster Planci
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