The crown-of-thorns starfish(CoTS)outbreak has caused severe damage to coral reefs in China and the Indo-Pacific region.Fish predators have been considered as an important factor in controlling the population out-break,but there is a lack of research on the fish that can prey on crown-of-thorns starfish in China.By collecting coral reef fish from five outbreak areas of crown-of-thorns starfish in the Xisha Islands,CoTS DNA was detectedin the intestinal contents of the reef fish using PCR technology,and which compared with reported CoTS larval predat-ors.The results showed that a total of 62 fish belonging to 23 families,36 genera and 50 species were captured in this survey.CoTS DNA was detected in the gut contents of four fish species,namely Naso lituratus,Dascyllus retic-ulatus,Chelilinus trilobatus and Lethrinus erythropterus.Among them,N.lituratus,C.trilobatus and L.erythrop-terusare reported for the first time as potential predators of CoTS.This study has identified the potential predators of CoTS for the first time in China,providing important references for the development of early prevention and con-trol techniques for crown-of-thorns starfish.
维普
万方数据