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Researchers Dione Decker (left) and Professor Maria Byrne, with an adult crown-of-thorns starfish at the Great Barrier Reef.

Crown-of-thorns starfish lie in wait for corals to recover

4 years ago By Chief minion

It is common knowledge that the crown-of-thorns starfish is the bane of coral reef communities. What is lesser known is that this species does not feed on only corals. Rather, in its juvenile stage, it feeds on algae. Then, as it matures into an adult, it will switch to a diet of corals.

Based on new research reported in the Biology Letters journal, the starfish has the ability to adjust the timing of its dietary change based on the availability of coral in the vicinity.

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Built in 1978 and launched two years later, the frigate served Australia for 24 years before it was decomm

HMAS Canberra scuttled

16 years ago By Chief minion

Commercial clearance divers were expected to survey the wreck once it had settled later on Sunday to ensure all the charges had detonated.

Moorings will then be installed by Parks Victoria before the government opens the site for divers, in about a month's time.

Built in 1978 and launched two years later, the frigate served Australia for 24 years before it was decommissioned in 2005.

It served in the Middle East following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1992 and helped evacuate Australians from Jakarta in 1998 during the student riots that deposed Indonesian president Suharto.