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The Great Barrier Reef

Coral Loss
By: Gift S.
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Research Question
What happened to the Great
Barrier Reef and what caused it to
happen?

The Great Barrier Reef Facts
S Worlds largest coral reef
S Northeast coast of Australia
S World Heritage site
S 400 types of coral and 1500 species of fish
S Many marine species are endangered
S Lost about half of corals in last 30 years
Reasons why the Corals are
Lost
1. Storm damage
2. Great increase of carnivorous crown-of-thorns starfish
3. Fertilizers
4. Coral bleaching
5. Greater amount of CO2 in sea

Crown-of-Thorns Starfish
S Covered with long, sharp and venomous spines
S Carnivorous
S Adult starfish can grow up to 46 cm in diameter
S Adult starfish can eat 6 square meters=12 months
S Females produce 5-20 million eggs
S Lived in GBR for thousands of years, but lately numbers have
greatly increased
S Blamed for 40 percent of the GBR loss
Facts
2
nd
largest starfish in
the world
Most starfish have 5
arms, crown of thorns
has 13-21 arms
Nocturnal (Active at
night)
Can move at a speed
up to 20 km per hour

Why the Crown of Thorns Starfish
affected so much of the GBR and
increased over the past years
1. The females produce over millions of eggs
2. Fertilizers from the farmlands of Australia
i. Eggs become larvae - larvae feed on phytoplankton
ii. Nowadays, more fertilizers near the sea get washed down
to the sea
iii. Phytoplankton algae feed on the fertilizer chemicals =
greater increase in the algae, more larvae survive and
become adults




Solution for the Carnivorous
Starfish
New substance scientists created:
1. Inject into starfish
2. Causes allergic reaction
3. Dies within 2 days
S In 40 minutes, divers can inject 1000 starfish 1000
crown of thorns starfish dies
Connections
Class work:
IDU Water unit
Science Biodiversity and
ecosystems unit

Global importance:
Species could grow bigger,
spreading over the globe
Recently happened in
Philippines, culled 87,000
crown of thorns starfish

Choices
S When scuba diving, be aware of these species
S Teach farmers to use organic fertilizers
S Help reduce global warming





Bibliography
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<http://resources.nist.ac.th/mediacenter/Other%20Documents/Newsademic/Newsade
mic%20Issue%20222%20B.pdf>.
"Coral Bleaching." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Keppelbleaching.jpg>.
"Crown of Thorns Starfish." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 09 May 2014.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Crown-of-thorns_starfish>.
"Crown of Thorns Starfish to Be Tackled." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 08
Oct. 2012. Web. 10 May 2014.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/959319
1/Crown-of-thorns-starfish-to-be-tackled.html>.
"Crown-of-Thorns Starfish." Great Barrier Reef Biome. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
<http://great-barrier-reef-biome.wikispaces.com/file/view/crown-of-thorns-starfish-
phuket-big.jpg/326805896/crown-of-thorns-starfish-phuket-big.jpg>.
"Diver Among the Corals." National Geographic. Ed. David Doubilet. N.p., n.d. Web.
10 May 2014. <http://s.ngm.com/2011/05/great-barrier-reef/img/great-barrier-reef-
diver-615.jpg>.
"Fun Facts - Crown of Thorns Starfish." Fun Facts - Crown of Thorns Starfish. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. <https://sites.google.com/a/pennington.org/crown-of-thorns-
starfish/fun-facts>.
"Great Barrier Reef." - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May
2014. <http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154>.
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<http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/24/19824-004-4BF0C660.gif>.
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<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/GreatBarrierReef-EO.JPG>.
"How to Setup Different Types of Connections in Ozeki Phone System
XE." OZEKIPhone SystemXE. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
<http://ozekiphone.com/attachments/1424/connection.png>.
Johnson, Chris. "Getting Specific About Choices." Simplifilm Product Demo Videos.
N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://simplifilm.com/getting-specific-about-choices/>.
Nellist, Glenys. "Making Connections." Glenys Nellist: Kids' Ministry Matters. Blogger,
24 Oct. 2011. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-
WtgjsZJVQEg/TqWAXGnLcVI/AAAAAAAAAIU/RsLP4RxBTHI/s200/connections-
2be414r.png>.
Siddle, Julian. "Killer Starfish Threatens Great Barrier Reef." BBC News. N.p., n.d.
Web. 06 May 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26183209>.
"Small Crown of Thorns Starfish." Trip Advisor. N.p., Aug. 2011. Web. 10 May 2014.
<http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/fc/99/56/small-crown-of-
thorns.jpg>.
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<http://gemscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/stormAtSea-300x201.jpg>.
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Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-
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Interactive Activity
Split into 3 teams & answer questions
Q1

Where is the Great Barrier Reef located? Give me north,
east, south or west.
Q2

Since when did they lose their corals?

Q3

What is one reason for the loss of corals in the Great Barrier
Reef?
Q4

Another reason, please.
Q5

What causes coral bleaching?
Q6

What color are the corals after coral bleaching?
Q7

Is the Crown of Thorns starfish a herbivore, carnivore or a
omnivore?
Q8

What is the largest starfish in the world?
Q9

What is one choice we could make?
Q10

What country is my issue in?