Review of phytoplankton in the Great Barrier Reef and potential links to Crown of Thorns.

摘要: This review looks at the current state of knowledge of the role of phytoplankton communities in Great Barrier Reef waters, and the potential links to the crown of thorns (COTS) status. The report draws heavily on key recent publications that have already summarised succinctly the link between deteriorating water quality and COTS outbreaks on the Great Barrier Reef. What is unknown in this link is if a change in phytoplankton community and/or size structure may play a role in the larval enhancement stage of the COTS life cycle, and if that change has been driven by changing water quality conditions in the Great Barrier Reef. International literature describes the role of phytoplankton size and community composition on the food web structure of all ecosystems. Alterations in nutrient stoichiometry, through disproportionate N and P loads can have profound consequences on algal assemblages; nutrients introduced or …