Crown-of-thorns starfish killing corals

Sometimes the trail of dead (white) coral leads straight to the culprit, a crown-of-thorns starfish. On Linnet Reef COTS were at outbreak levels. In October 2012, COTS were seen on all inshore and mid-shelf reefs that were surveyed, with outbreaks on 16 of 22 reefs that were surveyed. The average number of COTS per reef was the highest seen in the Cooktown-Lizard sector. Most COTS were between 14 and 25 cm, indicating that recruitment occurred several years ago.