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Amaze Lab
  • 2/11/2025
Climate change and bleaching events are a concern for our planet’s coral reefs, one of Earth's natural wonders. But now scientists have discovered another danger posed to these beautiful natural ecosystems and it’s something a bit unexpected.

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00:00Climate change and bleaching events are a concern for our planet's coral reefs, one
00:09of Earth's natural wonders.
00:11But now scientists have discovered another danger posed to these beautiful natural ecosystems,
00:15and you would likely never guess what it is.
00:17Marine biologists have found that juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish can survive high
00:21water temperatures caused by global warming, temperatures that often kill coral.
00:25And as the water temperatures lower once again and the coral begins to grow back, those very
00:29starfish turn into predators and eat the fledgling coral.
00:33And that's really, really bad news for the coral, as each starfish can consume some 160
00:38to 320 square feet of young coral a day, meaning the colorful ecosystems are under threat by
00:43another source, and we could lose far more of our planet's coral at a far greater speed.
00:48What's worse, crown-of-thorns starfish are increasing in number due to overfishing of
00:52their natural predators, with our researchers adding, quote, now we have evidence that bleaching-induced
00:57coral mortality could aid the seafloor-dwelling juveniles, leading to subsequent large waves
01:02of adults in reefs, which exacerbate the ravages of climate change, with the researchers adding
01:07that the young starfish are able to survive because of their small size and diverse diets.

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