| Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, November 16, 2001 |
National Coral Reef Nature Reserve Suffers Catastrophe |
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With the richest resources of coral reef in China, the Sanya coral reef nature reserve in south China's Hainan Province is suffering a catastrophe due to the threat from the Acanthaster planci and sea chestnut.
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Sanya coral reef nature reserve suffers catastropheThe Sanya coral reef nature reserve in south China's Hainan Province is suffering a catastrophe due to the threat from the Acanthaster planci and sea chestnut.
A brief of Sanya coral reef nature reserveApproved by the State Council, the Sanya coral reef nature reserve was established in 1990. As China's only state-level coral reef nature reserve, it has the richest resources of coral reef in China. Located in the southern Hainan Province, the coral reef nature reserve covers a total area of 55.68 square kilometers, with 115 species of hermatypic (reef building) corals and many other marine lives closely related to the coral reef biological system scattering below the water surface.
Predators of coralsAcanthaster planci is a generalized predator of corals. It feed by turning its stomach outward (an area equivalent to that of its oral disk), digesting it by pressing against the coral. Investigation showed that an acanthaster planci can eat away corals of two square meters in one night. Its long and sharp prickles are venomous. And if you cut up an acanthaster planci with a knife, it may reproduce itself into two. So it is somewhat difficult to catch the starfish.
As another predator of corals, the sea chestnut may cause much little damage to corals as compared with acanthaster planci.
Chief criminal--damaged biological chainThe flooding disaster of acanthaster planci is due to the damaged biological chain. Triton, a common species of spiral shell, is the natural foe of acanthaster planci. But currently, there is only a small number of triton in the nature reserve because of the excessive capture by fishermen in 1980s and 1990s owing to the delicious taste and beautiful shell of tritons
Acanthaster planci
Crown of Thorn starfish (CoT) is a rather flattened sea star with a large central disk with 7 to 23 arms (usually 14 to 18). CoTs should be handled carefully, since the long, sharp spines are mildly venomous and can inflict painful, slowly healing wounds.
A.planci has a large potential for food input per unit biomass, which facilitates rapid growth; a young species can transform from the juvenile to the adult feeding biology within a 1 month transition period, beginning about 4.5 to 7 months after metamorphosis. It will reach a total diameter of about 25cm after just 2 years.
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By PD Online staff member Huang Ying
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