Diet of the non-native spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) in Puerto Rico

Damien Bontemps,Eileen Ortiz,Rafael Joglar,Elvira Cuevas,Joseph Wunderle

doi:10.3391/mbi.2016.7.3.08

Abstract

Diet of the non-native spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) in Puerto Rico

Highlights

Acanthaster planci (Linnaeus, 1758), the crown-ofthorns seastar, are voracious, opportunistic carnivores that typically consume sessile invertebrates, hard corals, and carrion
One lesson from invasion ecology readily applied to A. planci is the understanding of critical stages in life-history to inform cost-effective management actions and determine outbreak triggers (Pratchett et al 2014)
The long term prospects for the Great Barrier Reef are of concern without a dedicated long-term framework to target the higher risk, quick return impacts affecting coral cover during A. planci boom periods as well as monitoring and understanding the conditions needed to support bust cycles

Summary

Introduction

Acanthaster planci (Linnaeus, 1758), the crown-ofthorns seastar, are voracious, opportunistic carnivores that typically consume sessile invertebrates, hard corals, and carrion. A. planci has exhibited long-term boom-bust population cycles to devastating effect in the Indo-Pacific, threatening the Great Barrier Reef (e.g., Uthicke et al 2009; Baird et al 2013). On the Great Barrier Reef there have been four documented A. planci outbreaks since the 1960’s, each spaced ~17 years apart (Pratchett et al 2014). During these outbreaks natural densities increase to a point resulting in “plagues” of the seastar consuming coral faster than it can grow.

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Conclusion