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<p>Despite extensive research on the western Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS; <i>Acanthaster</i> cf. <i>solaris</i>), especially from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR), there are persistent knowledge gaps that constrain understanding and management. Given renewed population irruptions of CoTS on the GBR, alongside escalating climate impacts and direct anthropogenic pressures, a quantitative assessment of knowledge gaps was undertaken to identify research priorities and guide future efforts. In this study, 27 experts independently scored 206 research questions across seven <i>Themes</i> and 39 topics, based on four different criteria (<i>Knowledge gap</i>, <i>Feasibility</i>, <i>Urgency</i>, and <i>Applicability</i>). These questions were ultimately rationalized into 170 distinct questions, with scores aggregated across merged questions. Management was the highest scoring <i>Theme</i> for <i>Urgency</i>, <i>Applicability</i>, and overall. All but six of the 20 top-ranked questions were from the Management <i>Theme</i> and mainly related to Culling and/ or Monitoring. Most questions (158 out of 170) also scored highly for <i>Feasibility</i>, suggesting that there are existing methods and technical capability available to advance the extensive and diverse range of research questions that were posed, if resources were made available. This quantitative assessment provides guidance on the prioritization of potential research that could improve management of CoTS populations to improve coral protection outcomes on the GBR. This study also suggests that there are limited constraints to undertaking necessary research to address many of the persistent knowledge gaps relating to CoTS.</p>

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Quantitative assessment of knowledge gaps and research priorities for understanding and managing population irruptions of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

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  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月19日

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  • Morgan S. Pratchett,
  • Peter C. Doll,
  • Christopher Cvitanovic,
  • Shaun K. Wilson,
  • Russell C. Babcock,
  • Yves-Marie Bozec,
  • Deborah Burn,
  • Maria Byrne,
  • Carolina Castro-Sanguino,
  • Carla C. M. Chen,
  • Scott A. Condie,
  • Zara-Louise Cowan,
  • Dione Deaker,
  • Amelia A. Desbiens,
  • Lyndon DeVantier,
  • Peter J. Doherty,
  • Mick Haywood,
  • Anne Hoggett,
  • Lone Høj,
  • Bethan J. Lang,
  • Samuel A. Mattthews,
  • Hamish McCallum,
  • Camille Mellin,
  • Benjamin Mos,
  • Cherie A. Motti,
  • Sven Uthicke,
  • Lyle Vail,
  • Kennedy Wolfe,
  • Ciemon F. Caballes

摘要

Despite extensive research on the western Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS; Acanthaster cf. solaris), especially from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR), there are persistent knowledge gaps that constrain understanding and management. Given renewed population irruptions of CoTS on the GBR, alongside escalating climate impacts and direct anthropogenic pressures, a quantitative assessment of knowledge gaps was undertaken to identify research priorities and guide future efforts. In this study, 27 experts independently scored 206 research questions across seven Themes and 39 topics, based on four different criteria (Knowledge gap, Feasibility, Urgency, and Applicability). These questions were ultimately rationalized into 170 distinct questions, with scores aggregated across merged questions. Management was the highest scoring Theme for Urgency, Applicability, and overall. All but six of the 20 top-ranked questions were from the Management Theme and mainly related to Culling and/ or Monitoring. Most questions (158 out of 170) also scored highly for Feasibility, suggesting that there are existing methods and technical capability available to advance the extensive and diverse range of research questions that were posed, if resources were made available. This quantitative assessment provides guidance on the prioritization of potential research that could improve management of CoTS populations to improve coral protection outcomes on the GBR. This study also suggests that there are limited constraints to undertaking necessary research to address many of the persistent knowledge gaps relating to CoTS.