Reef Alarmists Find What They Need to Find

Some 50 years ago an outbreak of coral eating crown-of-thorns (CoT) starfish on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) came to the attention of biologists. Today, after a half-century and hundreds of millions of dollars in research, during which time the starfish have blossomed and declined numerous times, there is still no evidence to indicate such population blooms are not natural events, as they are with other starfish species all over the world. The researches did learn something of value, however: alleged “threats” to the GBR attract media attention, generous research funding and public recognition for researchers.