Recurring outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) severely damage healthy corals, especially in the Western Pacific Ocean. To obtain a better understanding of population genetics of COTS and historical colonization across the Pacific Ocean, complete mitochondrial genomes were sequenced from 243 individuals collected in 11 reef regions. Our results indicate that Pacific COTS (Acanthaster cf. solaris) comprise two major clades, an East-Central Pacific (ECP) clade and a Pan-Pacific (PP) clade, separation of which was supported by high bootstrap value. The ECP clade consists of COTS from French Polynesia, Fiji, Vanuatu and the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The Hawaii population is unique within this clade, while California COTS are included in EPC clade. On the other hand, the PP clade comprises multiple lineages that contain COTS from Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, GBR, Vanuatu, Fiji and French Polynesia. For example, a lineage of the
Three times the size of the country’s mainland, the reserve’s abundance of sharks, whales, turtles, and other marine life has been described as an “underwater Jurassic Park.”
(2016) Brenes et al. Revista de Biologia Tropical. This study was conducted in the southeast region of the Central American Pacific, an area of great oceanographic importance due to the presence of various upwelling phenomena and the direct influence of the ENSO on its waters. Its main objective .