Meanwhile, back on the reef...
It's Friday night, you are headed home and tired from a hard week of saving the world...so, who has energy to cook supper? Not this veterinarian! Man, wish I could stomach some of the more convenient (and well-packaged) food items available! Now, take this same mindset and see it through the eyes of a fish on the Great Barrier Reef - looking for an easy meal that is neatly packaged and doesn't require chasing...hmmm, yes, a starfish would be nice!
They are arranged in bite-size projections (think chicken strips) and cannot really run or fight. Yet the only starfish I see is the "crown-of-thorns!" HARD PASS! Right?! Anything that has a name like that has to be painful on the gut, right? Well, as it turns out, many fish species can stomach a little CoT meal (see what we did there with "stomach?!")!
The big deal is that the CoT actually EATS coral! Yes, that's right - so, a surge in CoT populations can have dramatic impact on the already vulnerable reef. Until recently, scientists had no idea which, if any, predators existed to keep these royal accessories in check. Nature is really incredible in its balance - for every prey there is a predator, and a predator for that one, ad infinitum.
For every yin, a yang. Check out the video embedded in the article as well...it will give you a whole new appreciation for the tenacity and durability of a puffer...fish...:)
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