text:
Crown-of-thorns starfish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Crown-of-thorns starfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Asteroidea
Order: Valvatida
Family: Acanthasteridae
Genus: Acanthaster
Species: Acanthaster planci
Binomial name
Acanthaster planci
(Linnaeus, 1758)
The crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci, is a large, multiple-armed starfish that usually preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its upper surface, resembling the biblical crown of thorns. It is one of the largest starfish in the world.
A. planci has a very wide Indo-Pacific distribution. It is perhaps most common in Australia, but can occur at tropical and subtropical latitudes from the Red Sea and the east African coast across the Indian Ocean, and across the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of Central America. It occurs where coral reefs or hard coral communities occur in this region.
Contents
[hide]
1 Description
2 Taxonomy
2.1 Family
2.2 Genus and species
2.3 Genetic studies
3 Biology
3.1 Toxins
3.2 Behaviour
3.3 Predators
4 Life-cycle
4.1 Gametes and embryos
4.2 Larval stages
4.3 Metamorphosis, development and growth
4.4 Field observations of life-cycle
5 Ecology
5.1 Ecological impact on reefs
5.2 Population outbreaks
5.3 Causes of population outbreaks
6 Population control
7 References
8 External links
Description[edit]
Unusual brightly coloured crown-of-thorns starfish, Thailand
The body form of the crown-of-thorns starfish is fundamentally the same as that of a typical starfish, with a central disk and radiating arms. Its special traits, however, include being disc-shaped, multiple-armed, flexible, prehensile, and heavily spined, and having a large ratio of stomach surface to body mass.[1] Its prehensile ability arises from the two rows of numerous tube feet that extend to the tip of each arm. In being multiple-armed, it has lost the five-fold symmetry (pentamerism) typical of starfish, although it begins its life cycle with this symmetry.
Adult crown-of-thorns starfish normally range in size from 25 to 35 cm (9.8 to 13.8 in).[2] They have up to 21 arms.[3] Although the body of the crown of thorns has a stiff appearance, it is able to bend and twist to fit around the contours of the corals on which it feeds. The underside of each arm has a series of closely fitting plates which form a groove and extend in rows to the mouth.[4] They are usually of subdued colours, pale brown to grey-green, but they may be garish with bright warning colours in some parts of their wide range.[1][5]
The long, sharp spines on the sides of the starfish's arms and upper (aboral) surface resemble thorns and create a crown-like shape, giving the creature its name. The spines are stiff and very sharp, and readily pierce through soft surfaces. Despite the battery of sharp spines on the aboral surface and blunt spines on the oral surface, the crown-of-thorns starfish's general body surface is membranous and soft. When the starfish is removed from the water, the body surface ruptures and the body fluid leaks out, so the body collapses and flattens. The spines bend over and flatten, as well. They recover their shape when reimmersed, if they are still alive.[6]
Taxonomy[edit]
Family[edit]
The family Acanthasteridae is monogeneric; its position within the Asteroides is unsettled. It is generally recognised as a distinctly isolated taxon. Recently, Blake concluded from comparative morphology studies of Acanthaster planci that it has strong similarities with various members of the Oreasteridae. He transferred Acanthasteridae from the Spinulosida to the Valvatida and assigned it a position near to the Oreasteridae, from which it appears to be derived.[7] He attributed Acanthaster morphology as possibly evolving in association with its locomotion over irregular coral surfaces in higher energy environments. There is a complication, however, in that Acanthaster is not a monospecific genus and any consideration of the genus must also take into account another species, Acanthaster brevispinus, which lives in a completely different environment. A. brevispinus lives on soft substrates, perhaps buried in the substrate at times like other soft substrate-inhabiting starfish, at moderate depths where presumably the surface is regular and there is little wave action.
Genus and species[edit]
Short-spined form from Gulf of California – live specimen
Acanthaster planci has a long history in the scientific literature with great confusion in the generic and species names from the outset, with a long list of complex synonyms.[8] As a very distinctive starfish, it is not surprising that it was first described in 1705. Rhumphius used the name Stella marina quindecium radiotorum. Later, Linnaeus described it as Asterias planci, based on an illustration by Plancus and Gualtieri (1743), when he introduced his system of binomial nomenclature. No type specimens are known; the specimen described by Plancus and Gualtieri (1743) is no longer extant.
Subsequent generic names used for the crown-of-thorns starfish included Stellonia, Echinaster and Echinites, before settling on Acanthaster (Gervais 1841). Species names included echintes, solaris, mauritensis, ellisii, and ellisii pseudoplanci (with subspecies). Most of these names arose from confusion in the historical literature, but Acanthaster ellisii came to be used for the distinctive starfish in the eastern Pacific Gulf of California.
The eastern Pacific Acanthaster is very distinctive (see image to the right) with its rather 'plump' body, large disk to total diameter ratio and short, blunt spines. It gives the impression of living in a habitat where having sharp defenses against predators has little value, although it lives on coral reef and feeds on coral.
Genetic studies[edit]
Nishida and Lucas examined variation at 14 allozyme loci of ten population samples of A. planci using starch-gel electrophoresis. The samples were from localities across the Pacific: Ryukyu archipelago (four locations), Micronesia (two locations), and samples from one location each of the Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, Hawaii, and Gulf of California. A sample of 10 specimens of A. brevispinus from the Great Barrier Reef region was included for comparison. There was considerable genetic differentiation between the A. brevispinus and A. planci populations (D= 0.20 +/- 0.02)(D is genetic distance). The genetic differences between geographic populations of A. planci were, however, small (D = 0.03 +/- 0.00; Fsr = 0.07 + 0.02) (Fsr is standardized genetic variance for each polymorphic locus) despite the great distances separating them. A positive correlation was observed between degree of genetic differentiation and geographic distance, suggesting the genetic homogeneity among A. planci populations is due to gene flow by planktonic larval dispersion. The distance effect on genetic differentiation most probably reflects decreasing levels of successful larval dispersal over long distances. In view of the level of macrogeographic homogeneity, significant allele frequency differences were observed between adjacent populations separated by approximately 10 km. The Hawaiian population was most differentiated from other populations. Treating the morphologically distinctive, eastern Pacific Acanthaster as a separate species, A. ellisii, is not supported by these data. The lack of unique alleles in the central (Hawaii) and eastern Pacific (Gulf of California) populations suggests they were derived from those in the western Pacific.
Further details of the genetic relationship between A. planci and Acanthaster brevispinus are presented in the entry for the latter species. These are clearly sibling species and it is suggested that A. planci, the specialised coral-feeding species arose from A. brevispinus, the less specialised soft-bottom inhabitant.[9]
In a very comprehensive geographic study, Benzie examined allozyme loci variation in 20 populations of A. planci, throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans.[10] The most striking result was a very marked discontinuity between the Indian and Pacific Ocean populations. Those, however, off northern Western Australia had a strong Pacific affinity. With the exception of the very strong connection of southern Japanese populations to the Great Barrier Reef populations, the patterns of variation within regions were consistent with isolation by distance. Again, the pattern of decreasing levels of successful larval dispersal over long distances is apparent. Benzie suggests that the divergence between Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean populations began at least 1.6 million years ago and is likely to reflect responses to changes in climate and sea level.
A more recent comprehensive geographic study of A. planci by Vogler et al., using DNA analyses (one mitochondrial gene), suggests it is actually a species complex consisting of four species or clades.[11] The four cryptic species/clades are defined geographically: northern Indian Ocean, southern Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Pacific Ocean. These molecular data suggest the species/clades diverged 1.95 and 3.65 million years ago. (The divergence of A. planci and A. brevispinus is not included in this time-scale.) The authors suggest the differences between the four putative species in behaviour, diet or habitat may be important for the design of appropriate reef conservation strategies.[12]
There are, however, problems with this proposal of cryptic speciation (cryptic species). The basis of these data from one mitochondrial gene. mtDNA data are, however, only one source of information about the status of taxa and the use of one mtDNA gene as a sole criterion for species identification is disputed.[13][14] The allozyme data should also be taken into account. Three localities that were sampled by Vogler et al. are of particular interest: Palau Sebibu, UEA and Oman were found to have two clades/sibling species in sympatry. These are important to investigate the nature of the co-existence and barriers to introgression of genetic material. A. planci as a taxon is a generalist, being amongst the most ubiquitous of large coral predators on coral reefs, feeding on virtually all hard coral species, reproducing during summer without a pattern of spawning and often participating in mass multi-species spawnings,[15] and releasing vast amounts of gametes that trigger spawning in other individuals. It is very difficult to conceive of two species/clades of A. planci in sympatry without habitat competition and introgression of genetic material, especially the latter.
Biology[edit]
Toxins[edit]
Broken and regenerating spines
Swollen right hand after punctured
Frothing in water containing A. planci
Starfish handled to avoid damaging it (spines on the underside are blunt)
Starfish are characterised by having saponins known as asterosaponins in their tissues. They contain a mix of these saponins, and at least 15 chemical studies have been conducted seeking to characterise these saponins.[1] The saponins have detergent-like properties, and keeping starfish in limited water volumes with aeration results in large amounts of foam at the surface.
A. planci has no mechanism for injecting the toxin, but as the spines perforate tissue of a predator or unwary person, tissue containing the saponins is lost into the wound. In humans, this immediately causes a sharp, stinging pain that can last for several hours, persistent bleeding due to the haemolytic effect of saponins, and nausea and tissue swelling that may persist for a week or more.[16] The spines, which are brittle, may also break off and become embedded in the tissue where they must be removed surgically.
Saponins seem to occur throughout the lifecycle of the crown-of-thorns starfish. The saponins in the eggs are similar to those in the adult tissues, and presumably these carry over to the larvae.[17] The mouthing behaviour of predators of juvenile starfish with rejection suggests the juveniles contain saponins.
Behaviour[edit]
Juveniles concealed under coral rubble
Feeding scars of white coral skeleton
Feeding on branching Acropora coral
Starfish 'competing' for remaining live coral
The adult crown-of-thorns is a carnivorous predator that usually preys on reef coral polyps. It climbs onto a section of living coral colony using the large number of tube feet on its oral surface and flexible body. It fits closely to the surface of the coral, even the complex surfaces of branching corals. It then extrudes its stomach out through its mouth over the surface to virtually its own diameter. The stomach surface secretes digestive enzymes that allow the starfish to absorb nutrients from the liquefied coral tissue. This leaves a white scar of coral skeleton which is rapidly infested with filamentous algae.[18] An individual starfish can consume up to 6 square metres (65 sq ft) of living coral reef per year.[19] In a study of feeding rates on two coral reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef region, large starfish (40 cm and greater diameter) killed about 61 cm²/day in winter and 357–478 cm²/day in summer. Smaller starfish, 20–39 cm, killed 155 and 234 cm²/day in the equivalent seasons. The area killed by the large starfish is equivalent to about 10 m2 (110 sq ft) from these observations.[20] Differences in feeding and locomotion rates between summer and winter reflect the fact that the crown-of-thorns, like all marine invertebrates, is a poikilotherm whose body temperature and metabolic rate are directly affected by the temperature of the surrounding water. In tropical coral reefs, crown-of-thorns specimens reach mean locomotion rates of 35 cm/min,[21] which explains how outbreaks can damage large reef areas in relatively short periods.
The starfish show preferences between the hard corals on which they feed. They tend to feed on branching corals and table-like corals, such as Acropora species, rather than on more rounded corals with less exposed surface area, such as Porites species.[22] Avoidance of Porites and some other corals may also be due to resident bivalve molluscs and polychaete worms in the surface of the coral which discourage the starfish.[23] Similarly, some symbionts, such as small crabs, living within the complex structures of branching corals, may ward off the starfish as it seeks to spread its stomach over the coral surface.[24]
In reef areas of low densities of hard coral, reflecting the nature of the reef community or due to feeding by high density crown-of-thorns, the starfish may be found feeding on soft corals (Alcyonacea).[25]
The starfish are cryptic in behavior during their first two years, emerging at night to feed. They usually remain so as adults when solitary. The only evidence of a hidden individual may be white feeding scars on adjacent coral. However, their behavior changes under two circumstances:
During the breeding season, which is typically during early to midsummer, the starfish may gather together high on a reef and synchronously release gametes to achieve high levels of egg fertilisation.[26] This pattern of synchronised spawning is not at all unique, but it is very common amongst marine invertebrates that do not copulate. Solitary spawning gives no opportunity for fertilisation of eggs and wastes gametes and evidence exists of a spawning pheromone that causes the starfish to aggregate and release gametes synchronously.[27]
When the starfish are at high densities, they may move day and night, competing for living coral.
Predators[edit]
A Triton's trumpet (Charonia tritonis), one of the main predators of A. planci.
The elongated sharp spines covering nearly the entire upper surface of the crown-of-thorns serve as a mechanical defense against large predators. It also has a chemical defense. Saponins presumably serve as an irritant when the spines pierce a predator, in the same way as they do when they pierce the skin of humans. Saponins have an unpleasant taste. A study to test the predation rate on juvenile Acanthaster by appropriate fish species found that the starfish were often mouthed, tasted, and rejected.[28] These defenses tend to make it an unattractive target for coral community predators. In spite of this, however, Acanthaster populations are typically composed of a proportion of individuals with regenerating arms.
A variety of about 11 species have been reported to prey occasionally on uninjured and healthy adults of A. planci. All of these are generalist feeders and none of these, however, seems to specifically prefer the starfish as a food source.[29] This number, however, is probably lower, as some of these presumed predators have not been witnessed reliably in the field. Some of those witnessed are:
A species of pufferfish and two triggerfish have been observed to feed on crown-of-thorns starfish in the Red Sea, and, although they may have some effect on the A. planci population, no evidence exists of systematic predation.[30]
The Triton's trumpet, a very large gastropod mollusc, is a known predator of Acanthaster in some parts of the starfish's range. The triton has been described as tearing the starfish to pieces with its file-like radula.[31]
The small painted shrimp Hymenocera picta, a general predator of starfish, has been found to prey on A. planci at some locations.[32] A polychaete worm, Pherecardia striata, was observed to be feeding on the starfish together with the shrimp on an east Pacific coral reef.[33] About 0.6% of the starfish in the reef population were being attacked by both the shrimp and polychaete worm, killing the starfish in about a week. Glynn suggested this resulted in a balance between mortality and recruitment in this population, leading to a relatively stable population of starfish.[32]
Since P. striata can only attack a damaged A. planci and cause its death, it may be regarded as an 'impatient scavenger' rather than a predator.[34] As distinct from predators, dead and mutilated adults of A. planci attract a number of scavengers. Glynn lists two polychaete worms, a hermit crab, a sea urchin, and seven species of small reef fish.[33] Apparently, they are able to tolerate the distasteful saponins for an easy meal.
A large polyp-like creature of the genus Pseudocorynactis was observed attacking, and then wholly ingesting a crown-of-thorns starfish of similar size.[35] Continued studies revealed this polyp is able to completely ingest a crown-of-thorns specimen of up to 34 cm (13 in) in diameter.[36]
Life-cycle[edit]
Gametes and embryos[edit]
Stained cross-section of ripe ovary full of ova
Stained cross-section of testis (sperm are blue)
Spawning
First cell divisions within fertilised eggs, ca. 0.3 mm diam
Free-living gastrula stage, ca. 0.5 mm long
Gonads increase in size as the animals become sexually mature and at maturity fill the arms and extend into the disk region. The ripe ovaries and testes are readily distinguished with the former being more yellow and having larger lobes. In section they are very different with the ovaries densely filled with nutrient-packed ova (see ovum and photograph) and the testes densely filled with sperm, which consist of little more than a nucleus and flagellum. Fecundity in female Crown-of-thorns starfish is related to size with large starfish committing proportionally more energy into ova production such that a:[37]
200 mm diameter female produces 0.5–2.5 million eggs representing 2–8% of its wet weight
300 mm diameter female produces 6.5–14 million eggs representing 9–14% of its wet weight
400 mm diameter female produces 47–53 million eggs representing 20–25% of its wet weight
In coral reefs in the Philippines, female specimens were found with a gonadosomatic index (ratio of gonad mass to body mass) as high as 22%,[38] which underlines the high fecundity of this starfish. Babcock et al. (1993)[39] monitored changes in fecundity and fertility (fertilisation rate) over the spawning season of the Crown-of-thorns starfish on Davies Reef, central Great Barrier Reef, from 1990 to 1992. The starfish were observed to spawn (photograph) from December to January (early to mid-summer) in this region with most observations being in January. However, both gonadosomatic index and fertility peaked early and declined to low levels by late January, indicating that most successful reproductive events took place early in the spawning season. In northern hemisphere coral reefs however, crown-of-thorns populations reproduce in April and May,[38] and were also observed spawning in the Gulf of Thailand in September.[40] High rates of egg fertilisation may be achieved through the behaviour of proximate and synchronised spawning (see above in Behaviour).
Embryonic development begins about 1.5 hours after fertilisation, with the early cell divisions (cleavage) (photograph). By 8–9 hours it has reached the 64-cell stage.
Larval stages[edit]
Bipinnaria larva
SEM of bipinnaria larva
Brachiolaria larva
Late brachiolaria with starfish primordium
SEM brachiolarian arms
By Day 1 the embryo has hatched as a ciliated gastrula stage (photograph). By Day 2 the gut is complete and the larva is now known as a bipinnaria (photographs). It has ciliated bands along the body and uses these to swim and filter feed on microscopic particles, particularly unicellular green flagellates (phytoplankton). The SEM photograph is a scanning electron micrograph, which clearly shows the complex ciliated bands of the bipinnaria larva. By Day 5 it is an early brachiolaria larva. The arms of the bipinnaria have further elongated, there are two stump-like projections in the anterior (not evident in the photograph) and structures are developing within the posterior of the larva. In the late brachiolaria larva (Day 11)(photograph) the larval arms are elongate and there are three distinctive arms at the anterior with small structures on their inner surfaces (photographs). To this stage the larva has been virtually transparent, but the posterior section is now opaque with the initial development of a starfish. The late brachiolaria is 1-1.5 mm. It tends to sink to the bottom and test the substrate with its brachiolar arms, including flexing the anterior body to orient the brachiolar arms against the substrate.
This description and assessment of optimum rate of development is based on early studies in the laboratory under attempted optimum conditions.[41][42][43] However, not unexpectedly, there are large differences in growth rate and survival under various environmental conditions (see Causes of population outbreaks).
Metamorphosis, development and growth[edit]
Settling brachiolaria larva
5-armed juvenile starfish immediately after metamorphosis
Early juvenile starfish feeding on coralline algae (=> white feeding scars)
Very young coral-feeding juvenile with full set of arms and madreporites
Young coral-feeding juvenile
The late brachiolaria search substrates with their arms and, when offered a choice of substrates, tend to settle on coralline algae, which they will subsequently feed on. In the classic pattern for echinoderms, the bilaterally symmetrical larva is replaced by a pentamerously symmetrical stage at metamorphosis, with the latter's body axis bearing no relationship to that of the larva. Thus the newly metamorphosed starfish are five-armed and are 0.4–1 mm diameter. (Note the size of the tube feet relative to the size of the animal.) They feed on the thin coating layers of hard encrusting algae (coralline algae) on the undersides of dead coral rubble and other concealed surfaces. They extend their stomach over the surface of the encrusting algae and digest the tissue, as in the feeding by larger crown-of-thorns starfish on hard corals. The living tissue of the encrusting algae is approximately pink to dark red and feeding by these early juveniles results in white scars on the surface of the algae (photograph). During the next months, the juveniles grow and add arms and associated madreporites in the pattern described by Yamaguchi[44] until the adult numbers is attained 5–7 months after metamorphosis. Two hard corals with small polyps, Pocillopora damicornis and Acropora acunimata, were included in the aquaria with the encrusting algae and at about the time the juvenile starfish achieved their full number of arms they began feeding on the corals.[6]
Juvenile A. planci that had reached the stage of feeding on coral were then reared for some years in the same large closed-circuit seawater system that was used for the early juveniles. They were moved to larger tanks and kept supplied with coral so that food was not a limiting factor on growth rate. The growth curves of size versus age were sigmoidal, as seen in majority marine invertebrates.[45] There was an initial period of relatively slow growth while the starfish were feeding on coralline algae. This was followed by a phase of rapid growth which led to sexual maturity at the end of the second year. The starfish were in the vicinity of 200 mm diameter at this stage. They continued to grow rapidly and were in the order of 300 mm at 3 years of age. Then they reached a plateau between 3 and 4 years and tended to decline after 4 years. Gonad development was greater in the third and subsequent years than at 2 years and there was a seasonal pattern of gametogenesis and spawning with water temperature being the only apparent cue in the indoor aquarium. Most specimens of A. planci died from ‘senility’ during the period 5-7.5 years, i.e. they fed poorly and shrank.
Field observations of life-cycle[edit]
The data above are derived from laboratory studies of A. planci, which are much more readily obtained than equivalent data from the field. The laboratory observations, however, accord with the limited field observations of life-cycle.
As in laboratory studies where A. planci larvae were found to select coralline algae for settlement, early juveniles (<20 mm diameter) were found on subtidal coralline algae (Porolithon onkodes) on the windward reef front of Suva Reef (Fiji).[46] The juveniles were found in a variety of habitats where they were highly concealed: under coral blocks and rubble in the boulder zone of the exposed reef front; on dead bases of Acropora species in more sheltered areas; in narrow spaces within the reef crest; and on the fore-reef slope to depths of 8 m.
Growth rates on Suva Reef were found to be 2.6, 16.7 and 5.3 mm/month increase in diameter in the pre-coral feeding, early coral feeding and adult phases, respectively.[46] This is in accord with the sigmoidal pattern of size versus age observed in laboratory studies, i.e. slow initial growth, a phase of very rapid growth beginning at coral feeding and tapering off of growth after the starfish reaches sexual maturity. In reefs in the Philippines, female and male specimens matured at 13 and 16 cm respectively.[38]
Stump[47] identified bands in the upper surface spines of A. planci and attributed these to annual growth bands. He didn't report growth rates based on these age determinations, and mark and recapture data, but he reported that the growth bands revealed 12+ year-old starfish: much older than those that became ‘senile’ and died in the laboratory.
In a small number of field studies, mortality rates of juvenile A. planci have to found to be very high, e.g. 6.5% per day for month-old and 0.45% per day for 7-month-old. Most of the mortality comes from predators, such as small crabs, that occur in and on the substrate with the juveniles.[48] It is possible, however, that these rates may not reflect mortality over the range of habitats occupied by small juveniles.
Ecology[edit]
Ecological impact on reefs[edit]
Coral before A. planci predation
Filamentous algae encrusting coral skeletons after A. planci predation
Collapsed coral skeletons after A. planci predation and storm
Popular anxiety to news of high densities of A. planci on the Great Barrier Reef was reflected in many newspaper reports and publications such as ‘Requiem for the Reef',[49] which also suggested that there was a cover-up of the extent of damage. There was a popular idea that the coral and with it whole reefs were being destroyed by the starfish. In fact, as described in section 3.2 Behaviour, the starfish preys on coral by digesting the surface of living tissue from the coral skeletons. These skeletons persist, together with the mass of coralline algae that is essential for reef integrity. The initial change (first order effect) is loss of the veneer of living coral tissue.
A. planci is a component of the fauna of most coral reefs and the effects of A. planci populations on coral reefs are very dependent on the population density. At low densities (1 to perhaps 30/hectare) the rate at which coral is being preyed upon by the starfish, is less than the growth rate of the coral, i.e. the surface area of living coral is increasing. The starfish may, however, influence the coral community structure. Because the starfish don’t feed indiscriminately they may cause a distribution of coral species and colony sizes that differs from a pattern without them. This is evident by comparison of coral reefs where A. planci hasn’t been found to the more typical reefs with A. planci.[50]
Some ecologists suggest that the starfish has an important and active role in maintaining coral reef biodiversity, driving ecological succession. Before overpopulation became a significant issue, crown-of-thorns prevented fast-growing coral from overpowering the slower growing coral varieties.[51]
At high densities (‘outbreaks’, ‘plagues’), which may be defined as when the starfish are too abundant for the coral food supply, coral cover goes into decline. The starfish must broaden their diet from their preferred species, colony size and shape. The starfish often aggregate during feeding, even at low densities, but during high densities the cleared coral patches become almost continuous or completely continuous (photograph). There are second-order effects of these large areas of predated coral.
The bare coral skeletons are rapidly colonised by filamentous algae (photograph)
Large stands of staghorn coral, Acropora species, may collapse and become rubble reducing the topographical complexity of the reef (photograph)
Sometimes the predated surfaces are further invaded by macroalgae, soft coral and sponges. These tend to take over reef surfaces for long periods as alternatives to hard coral communities, as, once established, they limit recruitment by hard coral larvae.
Aesthetically, in all the above cases, the reef surface is not as attractive as the living coral surface, but it is anything but dead.
There is a third-order effect potentially arising from the invasion by filamentous algae. Animals that depend directly or indirectly on hard corals, e.g. for shelter and food, should lose out, and herbivores and less specialist feeders gain. It would be expected that this would be most conspicuous in the fish fauna and long-terms studies of coral reef fish communities confirm this expectation.[52][53] Observations of species abundance of coral reef fish communities considered 210 fish species from 10 reefs on the Great Barrier Reef. Over a period of 11 years, major disturbances, including outbreaks of A. planci and severe storms, resulted in major declines in coral cover on all reefs. Species abundance of coral reef fishes persisted on nine of the disturbed reefs. Extensive loss of coral resulted in declines in the group of species which were heavily coral-dependent, but this loss of diversity was more than compensated for by increases in the number of species that feed on invertebrates, algae and detritus. Because of this, species abundance in coral reef fish communities was estimated to be greatest at approximately 20% coral cover. Coral loss >20%, however, typically resulted in a decline in abundance of species in coral reef fish communities. The greatest impact, however, came from severe tropical storms, that resulted in an immediate loss of topographical complexity (photograph). Fish species from all trophic levels were more affected than by disturbances, such as A. planci predation, that kill corals but leave the reef framework intact.
Population outbreaks[edit]
Outbreak in French Polynesia
Large populations of crown-of-thorns starfish (sometime emotively known as ‘plagues’) have been substantiated as occurring at twenty one locations of coral reefs during the 1960s to 1980s.[54] These locations ranged from the Red Sea through the tropical Indo-Pacific region to French Polynesia. There were at least two substantiated repeated outbreaks at ten of these locations.
Values of starfish density from 140/ha to 1,000/ha have been considered in various reports to be outbreak populations, while starfish densities less than 100/ha have been considered to be low;[55] however, at densities below 100/ha there may be feeding by A. planci that exceeds the growth of coral and there is net loss of coral.
From the surveys of many reef locations throughout the starfish's distribution large abundances of Acanthaster can be categorised as:
Primary outbreaks where there are abrupt population increases of at least two magnitudes that cannot be explained by the presence of a previous outbreak.
Secondary outbreaks that can plausibly be related to previous outbreaks through the reproduction of a previous cohort of the starfish. These may appear as recruits to reefs down current from an existing outbreak population.
Chronic situations where there is a persistent moderate to high density population at a reef location where the coral is sparse due to persistent feeding by the starfish.[56]
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the most outstanding coral reef system in the world because of its great length, number of individual reefs and species diversity. When high densities of Acanthaster which were causing heavy mortality of coral were first seen about Green Island, off Cairns, in 1960–65, there was considerable alarm. High-density populations were subsequently found of a number of reefs to the south of Green Island, in the Central Great Barrier Reef region[57][58][59] Some popular publications suggested that the whole Reef was in danger of dying: 'Requiem for the Reef'[60] and 'Crown of Thorns: The Death of the Barrier Reef?'.[61] They influenced and reflected some public alarm over the state and future of Great Barrier Reef.
There have been a number of studies modeling the population outbreaks on the GBR as a means to understand the phenomenon, e.g.[62][63]
The Australian and Queensland governments funded research and set up advisory committees during the period of great anxiety about the nature of the starfish outbreaks on the GBR. They were regarded as not coming to terms with the unprecedented nature and magnitude of this problem[64] and the two references above. Many scientists were criticised for not being able to give definitive but unsubstantiated answers. Others were more definitive in their answers[65] Scientists were criticised for their reticence and for disagreeing on the nature and causes of the outbreaks on the GBR, hence the publication 'Starfish Wars' (cf. 'Star Wars').[65]
Causes of population outbreaks[edit]
There was serious discussion and some strongly held views about the causes of this phenomenon. Some hypotheses focused on changes in the survival of juvenile and adult starfish - the "predator removal hypothesis":
over-collecting of tritons, a predator of the starfish[66]
overfishing of predators of the starfish[67]
decline in predator populations through habitat destruction[68]
warmer sea temperatures enhance larvae development[69]
Many of the reports of fish preying on Acanthaster are single observations or presumed predation from the nature of the fish. For example, the humphead wrasse may prey on the starfish amongst its more usual diet.[70] Individual puffer fish and trigger-fish have been observed to feed crown-of-thorns starfish in the Red Sea, but there is no evidence that they are a significant factor in population control.[71] A study, however, based on the stomach contents of large carnivorous fish that are potential predators of the starfish found no evidence of the starfish in the fish's guts. These carnivorous fish were caught commercially on the coral reefs on the Gulf of Oman and examined at local fish markets.[72]
One problem with the concept of predators of large juvenile and adult starfish causing total mortality is that the starfish have good regenerative powers and they wouldn't keep still while being eaten. Also, they would need to be consumed completely or almost completely to die. 17–60% of starfish in various populations had missing or regenerating arms.[55] Clearly the starfish experience various levels of sublethal predation. When the damage includes a major section of the disk together with arms, the number of arms regenerating on the disk may be less than the number lost.[56]
Another hypothesis is the "aggregation hypothesis", whereby large aggregations of A. planci appear as apparent outbreaks because they have consumed all the adjacent coral. This seems to imply that there is apparently a dense population outbreak when there has already been a more diffuse population outbreak that has been dense enough to comprehensively prey on large areas of hard coral.
Female crown-of-thorns starfish are very fecund. Based on the eggs in ovaries, 200, 300 and 400 mm diameter females potentially spawn approximately 4, 30 and 50 million eggs, respectively[73] (see also Gametes and embryos). Lucas adopted a different approach, focusing on the survival of the larvae arising from the eggs.[74] The rationale for this approach was that small changes in the survival of larvae and developmental stages would result in very large changes in the adult population. Considering two hypothetical situations.
Twenty million eggs, from a female spawning and having a survival rate of about 0.00000001% throughout development would replace two adult starfish in a low-density population where the larvae recruit. If, however, the survival rate increases to 0.1% (one in a thousand) throughout development from one spawning of 20 million eggs this would result in 20,000 adult starfish where the larvae have recruited. Since the larvae are the most abundant stages of development it is likely that changes in survival will be most importance during this phase of development.
Temperature and salinity have little effect on the survival of crown-of-thorns larvae.[75] However, abundance and species of the particular component of phytoplankton (unicellular flagellates) on which the larvae feed has a profound effect on survival and rate of growth. The abundance of phytoplankton cells is especially important.[76] As autotrophs, phytoplankton abundance is strongly influenced by the concentration of inorganic nutrients, such as nitrogenous compounds.
Birkeland had observed a correlation between the abundance of crown-of-thorns on reefs adjacent to land masses. These occurred on mainland islands as distinct from coral atolls about three years after heavy rainfall that followed a period of drought.[77] He suggested that runoff from such heavy rainfall may stimulate phytoplankton blooms of sufficient size to produce enough food for the larvae of A. planci through input of nutrients.
Combining Birkeland observations with the influence of inorganic nutrients on survival of the starfish larvae in experimental studies gave support for a mechanism for starfish outbreaks:
increased terrestrial runoff → increased nutrients denser phytoplankton↑→ better larval survival → increased starfish populations
There have been further conformations of these connections, however research by Olson (1987), Kaufmann (2002), and Byrne (2016) suggests terrestrial runoff has little or no impact on larval survival.[78][79][80][81][82] The conflicting data describing the negligible role of terrestrial agricultural runoff has been described as "an inconvenient study".[78]
There is also a flow-on effect in that where there are large starfish populations producing large numbers of larvae, there is likely to be heavy recruitment on reefs downstream to which the larvae are carried and then settle.[citation needed]
Population control[edit]
Blue Acanthaster planci in Balicasag Island (Philippines)
Population numbers for the crown-of-thorns have been increasing since the 1970s.[83] However, historic records of distribution patterns and numbers are hard to come by, as SCUBA technology, necessary to conduct population censuses, had only been developed in the previous few decades.
To prevent overpopulation of crown-of-thorns causing widespread destruction to coral reef habitats, humans have implemented a variety of control measures. Manual removals have been successful,[38] but are relatively labour-intensive. Injecting sodium bisulphate into the starfish is the most efficient measure in practice. Sodium bisulphate is deadly to crown-of-thorns, but it does not harm the surrounding reef and oceanic ecosystems.[84] To control areas of high infestations, teams of divers have had kill rates of up to 120 per hour per diver.[84] The practice of dismembering them was shown to have a kill rate of 12 per hour per diver and the diver performing this test was spiked three times. Therefore, it is for this reason and not rumours that they might be able to regenerate that dismembering is not recommended.
An even more labour-intensive route, but less risky to the diver, is to bury them under rocks or debris. This route is only suitable for areas with low infestation and if materials are available to perform the procedure without damaging corals.
A 2015 study by James Cook University showed that common household vinegar is also effective, as the acidity causes the starfish to disintegrate within days. Vinegar is also harmless to the environment, and is not restricted by regulations regarding animal products such as bile.[85]
A new successful method of population control is by the injection of thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose agar (TCBS). Only one injection is needed, leading to the organism's death in 24 hours from a contagious disease marked by "discoloured and necrotic skin, ulcerations, loss of body turgor, accumulation of colourless mucus on many spines especially at their tip, and loss of spines. Blisters on the dorsal integument broke through the skin surface and resulted in large, open sores that exposed the internal organs."[86]
An autonomous starfish-killing robot called COTSBot has been developed and as of September 2015 was close to being ready for trials on the Great Barrier Reef.[87] The COTSbot, which has a neural net-aided vision system, is designed to seek out crown-of-thorns starfish and give them a lethal injection of bile salts. After it eradicates the bulk of the starfish in a given area, human divers can move in and remove the survivors. Field trials of the robot have begun in Moreton Bay in Brisbane to refine its navigation system, according to Queensland University of Technology researcher Matthew Dunbabin. There are no crown-of-thorns starfish in Moreton Bay, but when the navigation has been refined, the robot will be used on the reef.[88][89][90]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c Birkeland and Lucas (1990). Acanthaster planci: major management problem of coral reefs. Florida: CRC Press. pp. 97–98. ISBN 0-8493-6599-6.
Jump up ^ Carpenter, R.C. (1997) Invertebrate Predators and Grazers" In: C. Birkeland, Life and death of coral reefs, Springer. ISBN 978-0-412-03541-8.
Jump up ^ Caso, M.J. (1974). "External morphology of Acanthaster planci (Linnaeus)". Journal of the Marine Biological Associataion of India. 16 (1): 83–93.
Jump up ^ "Crown of Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster Planci)." Crown of Thorns Starfish Videos, Photos and Facts. Web. 5 November 2014. <http://www.arkive.org/crown-of-thorns-starfish/acanthaster-planci/>.
Jump up ^ Shedd, John G. (2006). "Crown of Thorns Sea Star". Shedd Aquarium. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
^ Jump up to: a b Lucas, J. S.; Jones, M. M. (1976). "Hybrid crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci x A. Brevispinus) reared to maturity in the laboratory". Nature. 263 (5576): 409–12. Bibcode:1976Natur.263..409L. doi:10.1038/263409a0. PMID 972678.
Jump up ^ Blake, DJ (1979). "The affinities and origins of the crown-of-thorns sea star Acanthaster Gervais". J. Nat. Hist. 13 (3): 303–314. doi:10.1080/00222937900770241.
Jump up ^ Birkeland C, Lucas JS (1990). Acanthaster planci: Major Management Problem of Coral Reefs. CRC Press. pp. 13–19.
Jump up ^ Lucas, J S; Nash, W J; Nishida, M (1985). Aspects of the evolution of Acanthaster planci (L) (Echinodermata, Asteroidea). Proceedings of the fifth international coral reef congress, Tahiti 27 May - 1 June 1985, Vol. 5:.
Jump up ^ Benzie JAH (1999). "Major genetic differences between crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) populations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans". Evolution. 53 (6): 1782–1795. doi:10.2307/2640440. JSTOR 2640440.
Jump up ^ Vogler, C.; Benzie, J.; Lessios, H.; Barber, P.; Worheide, G. (2008). "A threat to coral reefs multiplied? Four species of crown-of-thorns starfish". Biology Letters. 4 (6): 696–9. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0454. PMC 2614177  . PMID 18832058.
Jump up ^ "Coral-killing starfish turns out to be four species, not one". Yahoo! News. AFP. 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2008-10-14. [dead link]
Jump up ^ Hudson R.R.; Coyne J. (2002). "Mathematical consequences of the genealogical species concept". Evolution. 56 (8): 1557–1565. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2002.tb01467.x.
Jump up ^ Rubinoff, D. (2006). "Utility of mitochondrial DNA barcodes in species conservation". Conserv. Biol. 20 (4): 1026–1033. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00372.x. PMID 16922219.
Jump up ^ Babcock, R., Mundy, C., Keesing, J. & Oliver,J (1992). "Predictable and unpredictable spawning events: in situ behavioural data from free-spawning coral reef invertebrates". Invertebrate Reproduction and Development. 22: 213–228. doi:10.1080/07924259.1992.9672274. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
Jump up ^ Birkeland and Lucas (1990). Acanthaster planci: Major Management Problem of Coral Reefs. CRC Press. pp. 131–132. ISBN 0-8493-6599-6.
Jump up ^ Barnett, D; et al. (1968). "Determination of contents of steroidal saponins in starfish tissues and study of their biosynthesis". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B. 90 (1): 141–145.
Jump up ^ Belk, D (1975). "An observation of algal colonization on Acropora aspera killed by Acanthaster planci'". Hydrobiologia. 46 (1): 29–32. doi:10.1007/bf00038724.
Jump up ^ Pierre Madl (1998). "Acanthaster planci (An overview of the crown of thorns starfish)". Retrieved 2006-08-28.
Jump up ^ Keesing JK; Lucas JS (1992). "Field measurement of feeding and movement rates of the crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci (L.)". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 156: 89–104. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(92)90018-6.
Jump up ^ Mueller B; AR Bos; G Graf; GS Gumanao (2011). "Size-specific locomotion rate and movement pattern of four common Indo-Pacific sea stars (Echinodermata; Asteroidea)". Aquatic Biology. 12 (2): 157–164. doi:10.3354/ab00326.
Jump up ^ Birkland and Lucas (1990). Acanthaster planci: Major Management Problem of Coral Reefs. CRC Press. p. 149. ISBN 0-8493-6599-6.
Jump up ^ De Vantier; Reichelt and Bradbury (1986). "Does 'Spirobranchus giganteus protect host Porites from predation by Acanthaster planci: predator pressure as a mechanism of coevolution?". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 32: 307–310. doi:10.3354/meps032307.
Jump up ^ Pratchett (2001). "Influence of coral symbionts on feeding preferences of crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci in the western Pacific". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 214: 111–119. doi:10.3354/meps214111.
Jump up ^ Chansang, H; et al. (1987). Infestation of Acanthaster planci in the Andaman Sea. 2. Int. Symp. on Indo-Pacific Marine Biology, Agana (Guam). pp. Abstract.
Jump up ^ Babcock; Mundy and Whitehead (1994). "Sperm diffusion models and in situ confirmation of long-distance fertilization in the free-spawning asteroid Acanthaster planci". Biological Bulletin. 186: 17–28. doi:10.2307/1542033. JSTOR 1542033.
Jump up ^ Beach, D H; Hanscomb, N J; Ormond, RFG. (1975). "Spawning pheromone in crown-of-thorns starfish". Nature. 254 (5496): 135–136. Bibcode:1975Natur.254..135B. doi:10.1038/254135a0. PMID 1117997.
Jump up ^ Sweatman, HPA. (1995). "A field study of fish predation on juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish". Coral Reefs. 14 (1): 47–53. Bibcode:1995CorRe..14...47S. doi:10.1007/bf00304071.
Jump up ^ Moran, P (1986). "The Acanthaster phenomenon". Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev. 24: 379–480.
Jump up ^ Ormond, R. F. G.; Campbell, A. C. (1974). "Formation and breakdown of Acanthaster planci aggregations in the Red Sea". Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Coral Reefs. 1.
Jump up ^ Powell, G (1979). "Stars for kings". Sea Frontiers. 25 (5): 282–285.
^ Jump up to: a b Glynn, P (1981). Acanthaster population regulation by a shrimp and a worm. 4. International Coral Reef Symposium, Manila (Philippines), 18–22 May 1981.
^ Jump up to: a b Glynn, P (1984). "An amphinomid worm predator of the crown-of-thorns sea star and general predation on asteroids in eastern and western Pacific coral reefs". Bulletin of Marine Science. 35 (1): 54–71.
Jump up ^ Birkeland C, Lucas JS (1990). Acanthaster planci: Major Management Problem of Coral Reefs. CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-6599-6.
Jump up ^ Bos, A. R.; Gumanao, G. S.; Salac, F. N. (2008). "A newly discovered predator of the crown-of-thorns starfish". Coral Reefs. 27 (3): 581. Bibcode:2008CorRe..27..581B. doi:10.1007/s00338-008-0364-9.
Jump up ^ Bos AR; B Mueller; GS Gumanao (2011). "Feeding biology and symbiotic relationships of the Corallimorpharian Paracorynactis hoplites (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia)". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 59 (2): 245–250.
Jump up ^ Birkeland, C.; J.S. Lucas (1990). Acanthaster planci: Major Management Problem of Coral Reefs. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 63.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Bos, Arthur R.; Gumanao, Girley S.; Mueller, Benjamin; Saceda-Cardoza, Marjho M.E. (2013). "Management of crown-of-thorns sea star (Acanthaster planci L.) outbreaks: Removal success depends on reef topography and timing within the reproduction cycle". Ocean & Coastal Management. 71: 116–22. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2012.09.011.
Jump up ^ Babcock, R C; Mundy, C N; Engelhardt, U; Lassig, B. (1993). "Seasonal changes in fertility and fecundity in Acanthaster planci". Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, Qld (Australia).
Jump up ^ Scott, C. M.; Mehrotra, R.; Urgell, P. (2014). "Spawning observation of Acanthaster planci in the Gulf of Thailand". Marine Biodiversity. 45 (4): 621–2. doi:10.1007/s12526-014-0300-x.
Jump up ^ Henderson JA; Lucas JS (1971). "Larval development and metamorphosis of Acanthaster planci (Asteroidea)". Nature. 232 (5313): 655–657. Bibcode:1971Natur.232..655H. doi:10.1038/232655a0.
Jump up ^ Lucas JS (1973). "Reproductive and larval biology and Acanthaster planci (L.) in Great Barrier Reef". Micronesica. 9 (2): 197–203.
Jump up ^ Yamaguchi, M. (1973). Early life histories of coral reef asteroids, with special reference to Acanthaster planci(L.). In, Biology and Geology of Coral Reefs Vol. 2. Jones, A.O. and Endean, R. (eds). Academic Press, New York. p. 369.
Jump up ^ Yamaguchi, M 1973. Early life histories of coral reef asteroids, with special reference to Acanthaster planci(L.). In, Biology and Geology of Coral Reefs Vol. 2. Jones, A.O. and Endean, R. (eds).. pp. 369. Academic Press, New York.
Jump up ^ Lucas, J S (1984). "Growth, maturation and effects of diet in Acanthaster planci (L.) (Asteroidea) and hybrids reared in the laboratory". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 79 (2): 129–147. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(84)90214-4.
^ Jump up to: a b Zann, L Brodie, J; Berryman, C; Naqasima, M (1987). Recruitment, ecology, growth and behavior of juvenile Acanthaster planci (L.) (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). 2nd Int. Symp. on Indo-Pacific Marine Biology, Agana (Guam), 23–28 June 1986. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
Jump up ^ Stump, R. (1993). Life history characteristics of Acanthaster planci (L.) populations, potential clues to causes of outbreaks. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, Qld, Australia.
Jump up ^ Keesing, J K; Halford, A R. (1992). "Field measurement of survival rates of juvenile Acanthaster planci : Techniques and preliminary results". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 85 (1–2): 107–114. doi:10.3354/meps085107.
Jump up ^ James, Peter (1976). Requiem for the Reef: The Story of Official Distortion About the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish. Brisbane: Foundation Press.
Jump up ^ Birkeland, C; Lucas, JS (1990). Acanthaster planci: Major Management Problem of Coral Reefs. Florida: CRC Press.
Jump up ^ Larry Zetlin (2004). Predators of the Great Barrier Reef (TV-Special). Queensland, Australia: Gulliver Media Australia. External link in |publisher= (help)
Jump up ^ Wilson, Shaun K; Graham, Nicholas AJ; Pratchett, Morgan S; Jones, Geoffrey P; Polunin, Nicholas VC (2006). "Multiple disturbances and the global degradation of coral reefs: are reef fishes at risk or resilient?". Global Change Biology. 12 (11): 2220–2234. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01252.x.
Jump up ^ Wilson, S K; Dolman, A M; Cheal, A J; Emslie, MJ Pratchett; et al. (2009). "Maintenance of fish diversity on disturbed coral reefs". Coral reefs. 28 (1): 3–14. Bibcode:2009CorRe..28....3W. doi:10.1007/s00338-008-0431-2.
Jump up ^ Birkeland and Lucas (1990). Acanthaster planci: Major Management Problem of Coral Reefs. CRC Press. pp. 36–40. ISBN 0-8493-6599-6.
^ Jump up to: a b Moran, PJ (1986). "The Acanthaster phenomenon". Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev. 24: 379–480.
^ Jump up to: a b Birkeland and Lucas (1990). Acanthaster planci: Major Management Problem of Coral Reefs. CRC Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-8493-6599-6.
Jump up ^ Endean, R (1974). Publication title Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Coral Reefs. Vol.1. The Great Barrier Reef Committee, Brisbane (Australia). ISBN 0-909377-00-6.
Jump up ^ Endean, R; Stablum, W (1973). "A study of some aspects of the crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) infestation of reefs of Australia is Great Barrier Reef". Atoll Research Bulletin. 167: 60 (Abstract). doi:10.5479/si.00775630.167.1.
Jump up ^ Kenchington, R (1978). "The crown-of-thorns crisis in Australia: A retrospective analysis". Environmental Conservation. 5 (1): 11–20. doi:10.1017/s0376892900005191.
Jump up ^ James, Peter (1976). Requiem for the Reef. Brisbane: Foundation Press. ISBN 0-9597383-0-4.
Jump up ^ Brown, and Willey (1972). Crown of Thorns: The Death of the Great Barrier Reef?. Angus and Robertson. ISBN 0-207-12390-X.
Jump up ^ Reichelt, R E; Bradbury, R H; Moran, P J. (1990). "The crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci, on the Great Barrier Reef". Mathematical and Computer Modelling. 13 (3): 45–60. doi:10.1016/0895-7177(90)90008-b.
Jump up ^ Scandol, J P. (December 1999). "CotSim--an interactive Acanthaster planci metapopulation model for the central Great Barrier Reef". Marine Models Online. 1–4: 39–81.
Jump up ^ Raymond, Robert (1986). Starfish Wars: Coral Death and the Crown-of-Thorns. Melbourne: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-43015-8.
^ Jump up to: a b Endean, R; Cameron, A M (1985). Ecocatastrophe on the great Barrier Reef. Antenne Museum-EPHE, Moorea (French Polynesia): Proceedings of the fifth international coral reef congress, Tahiti 27 May - 1 June 1985, Vol. 5: Miscellaneous papers (A). pp. 309–314.
Jump up ^ Vicente, N (December 1999). "Natural treasures under heavy pressure". Oceanorama. Institut oceanographique Paul Ricard. Marseille. 30: 7–12.
Jump up ^ Bradbury, R. (1991). "Understanding Acanthaster". Coenoses. 6 (3): 121–126.
Jump up ^ Chansang; et al. (1987). Infestation of Acanthaster planci in the Andaman Sea. 2. Int. Symp. on Indo-Pacific Marine Biology, Agana (Guam),. pp. Abstract only.
Jump up ^ Uthicke, S.; Logan, M.; Liddy, M.; Francis, D.; Hardy, N.; Lamare, M. (2015). "Climate change as an unexpected co-factor promoting coral eating seastar (Acanthaster planci) outbreaks". Scientific Reports. 5: 8402. Bibcode:2015NatSR...5E8402U. doi:10.1038/srep08402. PMC 4325318  . PMID 25672480.
Jump up ^ Randall, John E.; Head, Stephen M.; Sanders, Adrian P. L. (1978). "Food habits of the giant humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus (Labridae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 3 (2): 235–8. doi:10.1007/BF00691948.
Jump up ^ Ormond, RFG; Campbell, A C (1974). Formation and breakdown of Acanthaster planci aggregations in the Red Sea. Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Coral Reefs. Vol.1.
Jump up ^ Mendonga, V M; et al. (2010). "Persistent and Expanding Population Outbreaks of the Corallivorous Starfish Acanthaster planci in the Northwestern Indian Ocean: Are They Really a Consequence of Unsustainable Starfish Predator Removal through Overfishing in Coral Reefs, or a Response to a Changing Environment?". Zoological Studies. 49 (1): 108–123.
Jump up ^ Kettle, B; Lucas, JS (1987). "Biometric relationships between organ indices, fecundity, oxygen consumption and body size in Acanthaster planci (L.) (Echinodermata; Asteroidea)". Bulletin of Marine Science. 41: 541–561.
Jump up ^ Henderson, JA; Lucas (1971). "Larval development and metamorphosis of Acanthaster planci (Asteroidea)". Nature. 232 (5313): 655–657. Bibcode:1971Natur.232..655H. doi:10.1038/232655a0.
Jump up ^ Lucas, John (1973). "Reproductive and larval biology and Acanthaster planci (L.) in Great Barrier Reef". Micronesica. 9 (2): 197–203.
Jump up ^ Lucas, J (1982). "Quantitative studies of feeding and nutrition during larval development of the coral reef asteroid 'Acanthaster planci' (L.)". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 65 (2): 173–194. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(82)90043-0.
Jump up ^ Birkeland, C (1982). "Terrestrial runoff as a cause of outbreaks of Acanthaster planci (Echinodermata: Asteroidea)". Marine biology. Berlin, Heidelberg. 69 (2): 175–185. doi:10.1007/bf00396897.
^ Jump up to: a b Wolfe, Kennedy; Graba-Landry, Alexia; Dworjanyn, Symon A.; Byrne, Maria (2017). "Superstars: Assessing nutrient thresholds for enhanced larval success of Acanthaster planci, a review of the evidence". Marine Pollution Bulletin. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.12.079.
Jump up ^ Brodie, Jon; Fabricius, Katharina; De'Ath, Glenn; Okaji, Ken (2005). "Are increased nutrient inputs responsible for more outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish? An appraisal of the evidence". Marine Pollution Bulletin. 51 (1–4): 266–78. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.10.035. PMID 15757727.
Jump up ^ Fabricius, K. E.; Okaji, K.; De'Ath, G. (2010). "Three lines of evidence to link outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns seastar Acanthaster planci to the release of larval food limitation". Coral Reefs. 29 (3): 593–605. Bibcode:2010CorRe..29..593F. doi:10.1007/s00338-010-0628-z.
Jump up ^ Kaufman, MG; Goodfriend, W; Kohler-Garrigan, A; Walker, ED; Klug, MJ (2002). "Soluble nutrient effects on microbial communities and mosquito production in Ochlerotatus triseriatus habitats". Aquatic Microbial Ecology. 29: 73–88. doi:10.3354/ame029073.
Jump up ^ Olson, Richard Randolph (1987). "In situ culturing as a test of the larval starvation hypothesis for the crown-of-thoms starfish, Acanthaster planci". Limnology and Oceanography. 32 (4): 895–904. doi:10.4319/lo.1987.32.4.0895.
Jump up ^ Scientists: To save Great Barrier Reef, kill starfish. CNN News. October 2, 2012
^ Jump up to: a b "Controlling Crown-of Thorns Starfish". Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. April 1995. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
Jump up ^ "Household vinegar advances the fight against crown of thorns starfish threat on Great Barrier Reef". ABC News. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
Jump up ^ http://www.int-res.com/articles/dao_oa/d097p085.pdf[full citation needed]
Jump up ^ McLeish, Kathy COTSBot: New robot aims to terminate crown-of-thorns starfish destroying Great Barrier Reef ABC News. September 4, 2015
Jump up ^ Espiner, Tom Starfish-killing robot close to trials on Great Barrier Reef BBC News. September 4, 2015
Jump up ^ Griggs, Mary Beth Robot Designed To Kill Starfish Will Be Released On Australian Reefs Popular Science. September 4, 2015
Jump up ^ "Aquatic robot seeks and destroys reef-killing starfish". Retrieved 25 March 2016.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crown-of-thorns starfish.
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
An overview of the crown-of-thorns starfish as observed on the Great Barrier Reef
Current status of crown-of-thorns starfish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef
History of outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef since 1986 (Animation)
Recent information on crown-of-thorns starfish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef
Controlling crown-of-thorns starfish
Crown-of-thorn outbreak simulation
Microdocs: Crown-of-thorns
Acanthaster planci expedition 1969 to Eastern Caroline Islands
An infographic relating to the crown-of-thorns starfish in the Great Barrier Reef
Crown of Thorns starfish 1971 Fathom magazine (Australia)
Taxon identifiers
Wd: Q26634
ADW: Acanthaster_planci
ARKive: acanthaster-planci
BioLib: 422188
EoL: 598484
Fossilworks: 100993
GBIF: 2271208
iNaturalist: 50915
ITIS: 157194
NCBI: 133434
WoRMS: 213289
Authority control
NDL: 01030270
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crown-of-thorns_starfish&oldid=814983736"
Categories:
Acanthasteridae
Fauna of Western Australia
Animals described in 1758
Invasive echinoderm species
Hidden categories:
All articles with dead external links
Articles with dead external links from September 2010
CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list
CS1 errors: external links
Articles needing more detailed references
Articles with 'species' microformats
All articles with unsourced statements
Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016
Wikipedia external links cleanup from March 2016
Wikipedia spam cleanup from March 2016
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
In other projects
Wikimedia Commons
Wikispecies
Languages
Afrikaans
العربية
Azərbaycanca
Български
Cebuano
Čeština
Deutsch
Español
Français
한국어
Italiano
עברית
Кырык мары
Latina
Lietuvių
Magyar
മലയാളം
Nederlands
日本語
Polski
Português
Русский
Simple English
Slovenščina
Suomi
Svenska
ไทย
Türkçe
Tiếng Việt
Winaray
中文
Edit links
This page was last edited on 12 December 2017, at 01:33.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

value: mw-page-base noprint

value: mw-head-base noprint

value: firstHeading firstHeading en

value: siteSub noprint

value: jump-to-nav mw-jump

value: min-width:15em; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(235,235,210)

tag: span

value: text-align: left; width: 200px; font-size: 100%

value:
/wiki/Sibling_species
mw-redirect
Sibling species

value:
/wiki/Mitochondrial_gene
mw-redirect
Mitochondrial gene

value:
/wiki/Cryptic_species
mw-redirect
Cryptic species

value:
/wiki/Metabolic_rate
mw-redirect
Metabolic rate

value:
/wiki/Triton%27s_trumpet
mw-redirect
Triton's trumpet

value:
/wiki/Hymenocera_picta
mw-redirect
Hymenocera picta

value:
/wiki/Gonadosomatic_index
mw-redirect
Gonadosomatic index

value:
/wiki/Embryonic_development
mw-redirect
Embryonic development

value:
/wiki/Scanning_electron_micrograph
mw-redirect
Scanning electron micrograph

value: Edit section: Metamorphosis, development and growth

value: Edit section: Field observations of life-cycle

value: Edit section: Ecological impact on reefs

value: Edit section: Causes of population outbreaks

value:
/wiki/Triton_(gastropod)
mw-redirect
Triton (gastropod)

value: This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2016)

value:
noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact
white-space:nowrap;

value:
/wiki/Sodium_bisulphate
mw-redirect
Sodium bisulphate

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1038%2F263409a0

value:
/wiki/PubMed_Identifier
mw-redirect
PubMed Identifier

value:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/972678

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.2307%2F2640440

value:
nofollow
external text
//www.jstor.org/stable/2640440

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbl.2008.0454

value:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18832058

value:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16922219

value: Category:CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1007%2Fbf00038724

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.3354%2Fab00326

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.3354%2Fmeps032307

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.3354%2Fmeps214111

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.2307%2F1542033

value:
nofollow
external text
//www.jstor.org/stable/1542033

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1038%2F254135a0

value:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1117997

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1007%2Fbf00304071

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12526-014-0300-x

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1038%2F232655a0

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.3354%2Fmeps085107

value:
nofollow
external text
http://www.gullivermedia.com.au

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.5479%2Fsi.00775630.167.1

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1038%2Fsrep08402

value:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25672480

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00691948

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1007%2Fbf00396897

value:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15757727

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00338-010-0628-z

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.3354%2Fame029073

value:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.4319%2Flo.1987.32.4.0895

value: A more detailed citation is required. (March 2017)

value: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

value: plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-style ambox-external_links

value:
nofollow
external text
https://reef888.blogspot.com.au

value:
row
navbox-group
width:1%;text-align: left;

value:
nofollow
external text
http://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id422188

value:
nofollow
external text
http://eol.org/pages/598484

value: Global Biodiversity Information Facility

value:
nofollow
external text
http://www.gbif.org/species/2271208

value:
nofollow
external text
http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50915

value: National Center for Biotechnology Information

value: Category:All articles with dead external links

value: Category:Articles with dead external links from September 2010

value: Category:Articles needing more detailed references

value: Category:Articles with 'species' microformats

value: Category:All articles with unsourced statements

value: Category:Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016

value: Category:Wikipedia external links cleanup from March 2016

value: Category:Wikipedia spam cleanup from March 2016

value: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

value: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

value: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

value: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

value:
/wiki/Crown-of-thorns_starfish
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

value: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

value: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

value:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

value: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

value: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

value:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

value:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

value:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

value: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

value: Find background information on current events

value:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

value: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

value: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

value: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

value: portal navigation p-wikibase-otherprojects p-wikibase-otherprojects-label

value: نجم البحر المكلل بالشوك – Arabic

value: Трънен венец (животно) – Bulgarian

value: interlanguage-link interwiki-fr badge-Q17437796 badge-featuredarticle

value: 악마불가사리 – Korean

value: כוכבן קוצני – Hebrew

value: Имӓн корона (тангыж шӹдӹр) – Western Mari

value: ക്രൗൺ ഓഫ് തോൺസ് – Malayalam

value: Терновый венец (морская звезда) – Russian

value: Crown-of-thorns starfish – Simple English

value: ดาวมงกุฎหนาม – Thai

value: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Crown-of-thorns_starfish rootpage-Crown-of-thorns_starfish skin-vector action-view


text:
Will Friedle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Will Friedle
Born
William Alan Friedle
(1976-08-11) August 11, 1976 (age 41)
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation
Actor, voice actor
Years active
1988–present
Spouse(s)
Susan Martens (m. 2016)
William Alan "Will" Friedle (born August 11, 1976) is an American actor and voice actor. He is best known for his comedic roles, most notably the underachieving elder brother Eric Matthews on the long-running TV sitcom Boy Meets World from 1993 to 2000. More recently, he has voiced a number of animated characters such as Terry McGinnis/Batman, the title character of Batman Beyond, and Ron Stoppable of Kim Possible. He voices Deadpool in Ultimate Spider-Man and Star-Lord in the animated version of Guardians of the Galaxy, replacing Chris Cox. He also performed the voices of Doyle in The Secret Saturdays, Lion-O in the rebooted ThunderCats series, and Blue Beetle on Batman: The Brave and the Bold.[1] One of his most recent roles has been the speaking voice of Bumblebee in the final episode of Transformers: Prime and the movie Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising and in the sequel series Transformers: Robots in Disguise, as well as in Transformers: Rescue Bots.
In December 2013, it was announced that Friedle would reprise his Boy Meets World role of Eric Matthews on the continuation series Girl Meets World.[2][3][4]
Contents
[hide]
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 Filmography
5 References
6 External links
Early life[edit]
Friedle was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Patricia Joan (née Leary) and Gary Allen Friedle, both lawyers.[5][6][7] After committing himself to becoming an actor, Friedle continually commuted from Avon, Connecticut to New York City for auditions. He attended Avon High School in 1994.
Friedle attended Occidental College. In the July 4, 2006 issue of People, Friedle mentioned he had thought about attending culinary school.
Career[edit]
After co-hosting Nickelodeon's Don't Just Sit There for three seasons (1988–1991), Friedle was cast as Cory Matthews' likeable but underachieving elder brother Eric on the long-running TV sitcom Boy Meets World from 1993 to 2000.
In 2004, he co-starred with Chris Owen in the independent film National Lampoon's Gold Diggers (originally titled Lady Killers). He also appeared in a supporting role in the 2005 ABC Family movie Everything You Want. Friedle was cast as Mike in the WB sitcom Off Centre, but could not accept the role because of a previous commitment to the UPN series The Random Years. The role ended up going to Eddie Kaye Thomas.[8]
Friedle voiced Seifer Almasy in the English version of the video game Kingdom Hearts II, Gideon Wyeth in the English version of the video game Advent Rising, and Jaster Rogue in the English version of the video game Rogue Galaxy.
Personal life[edit]
In 1997, Friedle dated American actress Jennifer Love Hewitt,[9] and co-starred with her in the romantic teen comedy Trojan War. Hewitt made a guest appearance as Jennifer Love "Feffy" Fefferman on Boy Meets World episode "And Then There Was Shawn".
Friedle is best friends with actor Jason Marsden and was the best man at Marsden's wedding in October 2004. The two have also worked together in numerous productions: Boy Meets World, Trojan War, Static Shock, Kim Possible, Batman Beyond, Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, ThunderCats and Mad.
He married his girlfriend, Susan Martens, on September 25, 2016 in Connecticut.[10]
Filmography[edit]
Film
Year
Film
Role
Notes
1997 Trojan War Brad Kimble
2000 Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Terry McGinnis/Batman Voice role
Direct-to-DVD release
2003 National Lampoon's Gold Diggers Calvin Menhoffer
2004 The Greatest Short Film Ever!!! Mark Short film
Howl's Moving Castle Additional voices Voice role
2005 Everything You Want Calvin Dillwaller
2008 Batman: Gotham Knight Anton, Cultist, Youth #1 Voice role
Direct-to-DVD release
2015 Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts Nightwing/Dick Grayson Voice role
Direct-to-DVD release[11]
Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Nightwing/Dick Grayson Voice role
Direct-to-DVD release[12]
2016 Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Gotham City Breakout Nightwing/Dick Grayson Voice role
Direct-to-DVD release[13]
Batman Unlimited: Mech vs. Mutants Nightwing/Dick Grayson Voice role
Direct-to-DVD release
Television
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1988 Don't Just Sit There Host
1992 Law & Order Russ Episode: "Trust"
1993–2000 Boy Meets World Eric Matthews Series regular (157 episodes)
Young Artist Award (nominated)
1994 The Gift of Love Luke CBS television movie
Are You Afraid of the Dark? Jimmy Armstrong Episode: "The Tale of the Long Ago Locket"
1996 ABC Afterschool Special Jason Gallagher Episode: "Educating Mom"
1998 My Date with the President's Daughter Duncan Fletcher Disney Channel television movie
1999 Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane Jeremy Pinter Episode: "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
H-E Double Hockey Sticks Griffelkin ABC television movie
Odd Man Out Phillip Evans Episode: "Punch Line"
1999–2001 Batman Beyond Terry McGinnis/Batman, additional voices Voice role
48 episodes
2001 The Zeta Project Terry McGinnis/Batman Voice role
Episode: "Shadows"
3rd Rock from the Sun Stan Episode: "Dick Soup for the Soul"
Go Fish Pete Troutner Series regular
2002 All That Himself Season 7, episode 6
2002 The Random Years Alex Series regular
2002–2007 Kim Possible Ron Stoppable Series regular
Voice role
87 episodes
2003 Jack's House Jack Unsold television pilot
Regular Joe Larry Episode: "Time and Punishment"
Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time Ron Stoppable Voice role
Disney Channel television movie
2003–2005 Lilo & Stitch: The Series Mackey Macaw Manager, Ron Stoppable Voice roles
Episode: "Phantasmo"
Episode: "Rufus"
2004 Static Shock Terry McGinnis/Batman, Pilot Voice role
Episode: "Future Shock"
Teen Titans Fang, Frozen Promgoer Voice role
Episode: "Date with Destiny"
Less Than Perfect Caleb Episode: "Claude Want to Know"
2004–2005 Justice League Unlimited Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern, Terry McGinnis/Batman II, Redcoat #3 Voice roles
Episode: "The Return"
Episode: "The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time Warped"
Episode: "Epilogue"
2005 Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama Ron Stoppable Voice role
Disney Channel television movie
Everything You Want Calvin Dillwaller ABC Family television movie
The Batman Gearhead Voice role
Episode: "RPM"
Credited as Will Friedel
2006 American Dragon: Jake Long Cousin Greggy Voice role
Episode: "Feeding Frenzy"
2008 Ben 10: Alien Force Ken Tennyson Voice role
Episode: "Max Out"
The Secret Saturdays Doyle Blackwell Voice role
2008 TMNT: Back to the Sewer Splinter Voice role
2009 Turtles Forever Miyamoto Usagi, additional voices Voice role
2008–2011 Batman: The Brave and the Bold Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle Voice role
2010–2011 The Penguins of Madagascar Randy the Sheep Voice role
2010 Sym-Bionic Titan Bryan, Jason, Student #1 Voice role
2011–2012 Thundercats Lion-O/Leo Voice role
Writer (2 episodes)
2011 Mad Lion-LOL, Captain America, Owen Lars Voice role
2012–2013 Winx Club Nereus Voice role
2012 Gravity Falls Reginald Voice role
2012 Green Lantern: The Animated Series Ragnar Voice role
2013–2016 Ultimate Spider-Man Wade Wilson/Deadpool
Web-Beard Voice role
Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters Bumblebee Voice role
2013–present Teen Titans Go! Kid Flash Writer (2 episodes)
Voice role
2015–2017 Girl Meets World Eric Matthews Recurring role
Writer (1 episode)
2015-2017 Transformers: Robots in Disguise Bumblebee, additional voices Voice role
2015 Avengers Assemble Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Jeter Kan Toon Voice role[14]
Replaces Chris Cox as Star-Lord in season 2[15][16]
2015 Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. Peter Quill/Star-Lord Voice role
Replaces Chris Cox in the episode "Planet Monster, Part 2"[17]
2015 Guardians of the Galaxy Peter Quill/Star-Lord Voice role
Video games
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2002 Disney's Kim Possible: Revenge of Monkey Fist Ron Stoppable
2003 Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Additional voices
2004 Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault Willy Gaines
2005 Jade Empire Lu the Prodigy
Advent Rising Gideon Wyeth
Rogue Galaxy Jaster Rogue
Teen Titans Fang
Chicken Little
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Hero/"Kensucky"
Kingdom Hearts II Seifer Almasy
2010 Batman: The Brave and the Bold Jamie Reyes/Blue Beetle
2013 Lego Marvel Super Heroes Rick Jones, Archangel, Nova
Web series
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2015-2017 Critical Role Kashaw Vesh Special guest on 5 episodes
2017-present Painter's Guild Himself Host
Discography
Year
Album
Song
Notes
2003-2005 Kim Possible The Naked Mole Rap (as Ron Stoppable) Featuring Nancy Cartwright (as Rufus)
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Phegley, Kiel (28 January 2009). "The Bravest & Boldest: Will Friedle". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
Jump up ^ Andy Swift. "'Girl Meets World': Eric Returns With Mr. Feeny — Season 2 Spoilers - TVLine". TVLine. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
Jump up ^ "Girl Meets Writers". Twitter. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
Jump up ^ "Will Friedle on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
Jump up ^ "Art-World Movie Shot In State To Be Shown Saturday In New Milford". tribunedigital-thecourant. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
Jump up ^ "The Hartford Courant article archive - Friedle-Leary". Retrieved 4 April 2016.
Jump up ^ "The Hartford Courant article archive - She Chose to Have Both". Retrieved 4 April 2016.
Jump up ^ Friedle lands UPN sitcom Neil Wilkes, DigitalSpy, 4 March 2002
Jump up ^ "Will Friedle". Retrieved 4 April 2016.
Jump up ^ "Boy Meets World star Will Friedle celebrates his marriage". Retrieved 15 August 2017.
Jump up ^ "Gary Miereanu". Twitter. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
Jump up ^ Gerding, Stephen (2 June 2015). "EXCLUSIVE TRAILER DEBUT: Joker Rules in "Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
Jump up ^ Siegel, Lucas (April 4, 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: WB Reveals Next LEGO DC Comics Movie with Announcement Trailer". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
Jump up ^ "New Frontiers". Avengers Assemble. Season 2. Episode 25. September 13, 2015. Disney XD.
Jump up ^ "Guardians of the Galaxy 'Assemble' again on TV". USA TODAY. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
Jump up ^ "Widow's Run". Avengers Assemble. Season 2. Episode 12. February 22, 2015. Disney XD.
Jump up ^ "Planet Monster, Part 2". Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. Season 2. Episode 26. June 28, 2015. Disney XD.
External links[edit]
Will Friedle on IMDb
Will Friedle on Twitter
Will Friedle at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
VIAF: 73553097
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Will_Friedle&oldid=838363769"
Categories:
1976 births
Living people
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
Occidental College alumni
Male actors from Hartford, Connecticut
American male child actors
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
People from Hartford, Connecticut
Hidden categories:
Articles with hCards
Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Български
Cymraeg
Español
فارسی
Français
한국어
Italiano
עברית
Nederlands
Suomi
Svenska
Tagalog
中文
4 more
Edit links
This page was last edited on 26 April 2018, at 15:05.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

tag: div

attr: id class

value: mw-page-base noprint

key: html

type: local

value: mw-head-base noprint

tag: a

attr: id class lang

value: firstHeading firstHeading en

value: siteSub noprint

value: jump-to-nav mw-jump

tag: th

attr: colspan style

tag: tr

tag: br

attr: href title

tag: td

value:
/wiki/Voice_actor
mw-redirect
Voice actor

value:
/wiki/Animated_character
mw-redirect
Animated character

value:
/wiki/Terry_McGinnis
mw-redirect
Terry McGinnis

value:
/wiki/Ron_Stoppable
mw-redirect
Ron Stoppable

value:
/wiki/Blue_Beetle_(Jaime_Reyes)
mw-redirect
Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)

value: Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 TV series)

value:
/wiki/Culinary_school
mw-redirect
Culinary school

value:
/wiki/Nickelodeon_(TV_channel)
mw-redirect
Nickelodeon (TV channel)

value:
/wiki/The_WB_Television_Network
mw-redirect
The WB Television Network

value:
/wiki/Seifer_Almasy
mw-redirect
Seifer Almasy

value:
/wiki/Eric_Matthews_(character)
mw-redirect
Eric Matthews (character)

value:
/wiki/Television_movie
mw-redirect
Television movie

value: List of Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes

value: List of Lilo & Stitch: The Series episodes

value:
/wiki/Future_Shock_(Static_Shock)
mw-redirect
Future Shock (Static Shock)

value:
/wiki/Less_Than_Perfect
mw-redirect
Less Than Perfect

value: The Once and Future Thing (Justice League Unlimited)

value: Epilogue (Justice League Unlimited episode)

value:
/wiki/The_Batman_(TV_series)
mw-redirect
The Batman (TV series)

value:
/wiki/Gearhead_(The_Batman)
mw-redirect
Gearhead (The Batman)

value:
/wiki/RPM_(The_Batman)
mw-redirect
RPM (The Batman)

value: List of American Dragon: Jake Long episodes

value:
/wiki/TMNT:_Back_to_the_Sewer
mw-redirect
TMNT: Back to the Sewer

value:
/wiki/Transformers_Prime
mw-redirect
Transformers Prime

value:
/wiki/Teen_Titans_(console_game)
mw-redirect
Teen Titans (console game)

value: List of minor characters in the Teen Titans animated series

value: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

value:
nofollow
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0295115/
external text

value:
nofollow
external text
https://twitter.com/willfriedle

value:
nofollow
external text
https://viaf.org/viaf/73553097

value: Category:American male television actors

value: Category:American male video game actors

value: Category:Male actors from Hartford, Connecticut

value: Category:20th-century American male actors

value: Category:21st-century American male actors

value: Category:People from Hartford, Connecticut

value: Category:Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers

value: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

value: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

value: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

value: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

value:
/wiki/Will_Friedle
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

value: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

value: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

value:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

value: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

value: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

value: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

value: List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [ctrl-alt-j]

value: Recent changes in pages linked from this page [ctrl-alt-k]

value:
/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard
Upload files [ctrl-alt-u]
u

value: A list of all special pages [ctrl-alt-q]

value: Permanent link to this revision of the page

value: Link to connected data repository item [ctrl-alt-g]

value: Printable version of this page [ctrl-alt-p]

value: Уил Фрайдел – Bulgarian

value:
interlanguage-link interwiki-cy
display: none;

value: ویل فریدل – Persian

value: ויל פרידל – Hebrew

value:
interlanguage-link interwiki-he
display: none;

value:
interlanguage-link interwiki-fi
display: none;

value:
interlanguage-link interwiki-tl
display: none;

value: 威爾·弗萊德 – Chinese

value: All languages (initial selection from common choices by you and others)

value: /static/images/wikimedia-button-1.5x.png 1.5x, /static/images/wikimedia-button-2x.png 2x

value: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

value:
suggestions
display: none; font-size: 13px;

value: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Will_Friedle rootpage-Will_Friedle skin-vector action-view