Abstract
A model of predation on subadult Acanthaster planci is developed within a metapopulation framework in which adult starfish and predators are patchily distributed, but reefs are linked by larval dispersal. The model demonstrates that it is possible for starfish to be maintained at low levels by predators with a type II functional response on some patches, provided larval mixing is incomplete and resource limitation exists on at least one reef. Because of the long pre-reproductive post settlement stage in Acanthaster, predation on this stage is found to be of particular importance in then population dynamics of the starfish.
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Mccallum, H.I. (1990). Effects of Predation on Acanthaster: Age-Structured Metapopulation Models. In: Bradbury, R. (eds) Acanthaster and the Coral Reef: A Theoretical Perspective. Lecture Notes in Biomathematics, vol 88. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-46726-4_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-46726-4_13
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