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Crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS;  Acanthaster  spp.) are among the most extensively studied coral reef taxa, largely owing to their devastating impacts on live coral cover during population outbreaks. Much of this research has however, been conducted in the western Pacific, although it is now apparent that there are several distinct species of  Acanthaster  spp. across the Indo-Pacific. The purpose of this study was to test for biogeographical variation in behaviour, comparing between  Acanthaster planci  at Lankanfushi Island in the Maldives and  Acanthaster  cf.  solaris  at Rib Reef on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The extent to which CoTS were exposed (cf. concealed within or beneath coral substrates) was substantially higher (63.14%) for  A .  planci  at Lankanfushi Island, compared to 28.55% for  A . cf.  solaris  at Rib Reef, regardless of time of day. More importantly, only 52% of individuals were exposed at night at Rib Reef compared to >97% at reefs around Lankanfushi Island. Biogeographic variation in the behaviour of  Acanthaster  spp. was independent of differences in the size structure of starfish and coral cover at specific study sites, but may be attributable to other environmental factors such as habitat complexity or prey availability. This is the first study to explicitly test for biogeographical differences in the biology and behaviour of  Acanthaster  spp., potentially linked to species-specific differences in the causes and explanations of population outbreaks. However, we did not find evidence at this stage of differences in behavior among regions, rather behavioural differences observed were most likely products of different environments.

Biogeographical variation in diurnal behaviour of Acanthaster planci versus Acanthaster cf. solaris