Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
Providing science-based solutions to protect and restore ocean health
This Aitutaki COTS Outbreak Report was prepared for the Government of the Cook Islands and local Stakeholders by the Living Oceans Foundation Chief Scientist who conducted the Cook Islands mission of the Global Reef Expedition in 2013. Mitigating the Impacts of …
Do you know… what is the crown of thorns starfish crisis? In this Crown of Thorns Starfish Crisis video, you’ll learn what crown of thorns starfish are and why they are the source of a crisis within our oceans. The crown-of-thorns …
Expedition Log: Maldives – Day 18 Over a short three-week period, our team of four scientists collected over 7,500 crown of thorns starfish (COTS) from three locations off North Malé Atoll and South Malé Atoll in the Maldives. While this …
Expedition Log: Maldives – Day 17 Our third area of research in the Maldives involved recent outbreaks of COTS reported from South Malé Atoll near Anantara Dhigu and Veli. Marine Biologists Marta Rigo and Alba had first observed starfish in the …
Expedition Log: Maldives – Day 14 Crown of thorns starfish (COTS) have undergone population explosions since at least the 1960s and scientists and managers have tried to control these outbreaks for just as long. The standard practice to control COTS …
Expedition Log: Maldives – Day 13 Corals have very few defenses against crown of thorns starfish (COTS). Their shape may partially protect them, especially species with long, closely spaced branches that are inaccessible to the stomach of the starfish. There …
Expedition Log: Maldives – Day 12 “In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” Baba Dioum This beautiful statement was spoken in …
Expedition Log: Maldives – Day 10 Crown of thorns starfish (COTS) are novel among the animal kingdom for many reasons. They can shed an appendage, or even lose more than half their body and survive by quickly re-growing the injured …
Expedition Log: Maldives – Day 9 What has been really interesting for us during this research mission are the differences between each resort; the people, the location, the resort, the transport, the reefs… After we finished working at Gili Lankanfushi …
