More likely, he suggests, is that protecting fish causes a trickle-down effect. Increasing populations of predatory fish reduce the numbers of bottom-dwelling fish such as wrasses, which eat invertebrates on the reef such as shrimp and worms. With fewer wrasses, invertebrate populations can swell -- and these creatures may be eating juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish and keeping outbreaks in check, Sweatman said. "While for years there has been an element of logical faith that substantial no-take areas can have benefits in biodiversity conservation," Richard Kenchington of the University of Wollongong, Australia, told Discovery News by e-mail. "These are the robust demonstrations, and it is surprising us all that statistically significant evidence of benefits is emerging so soon after the major re-zoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park." Crown-of-thorns starfish extend through the Indian and Pacific Oceans from the Pacific coast of Panama to the Red Sea, including the "Coral Triangle" of Southeast Asia, so finding ways to reduce outbreaks could have widespread benefits. "It's another argument for marine protected areas," Sweatman said. More benefits may be on the horizon in Australia. In 2004, no-take zones were expanded to include 33 percent of the reef. Related Links: Jessica Marshall's blog: EnvironMental Case |
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