Adjeroud Mehdi auteur aut IRD Kayal M. auteur aut IRD Peignon Christophe auteur aut IRD Juncker M. auteur aut IRD Mills S. C. auteur aut IRD Beldade R. auteur aut IRD Dumas Pascal auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Outbreaks of the coral predator Acanthaster spp., the crown-of-thorns seastar (COTS), cause major coral declines across the Indo-Pacific. However, the processes surrounding the initiation and propagation of COTS outbreaks are still unclear. We observed COTS outbreak abundances on several mid-shelf and inner-barrier reefs in the southern section of the New Caledonian lagoon, a multi-location initiation event that we expected to precede a broader region-wide disturbance. However, reef monitoring over 3 years revealed the highly localized and ephemeral character of these outbreaks. Outbreaks that were observed at four reef locations at the beginning of the survey simply faded away, without any specific management actions such as culling efforts. We also found no distinct reef biotope on which COTS outbreaks originated, although mid-shelf and inner-shelf barrier reefs seem to be favoured. New Caledonia has been exempted from to widespread regional COTS outbreaks, which is surprising given its proximity to the Australian Great Barrier Reef - a reef complex particularly vulnerable to COTS - and Vanuatu - where large-scale outbreaks were recorded during the same period. The availability of coral prey is probably not a limiting factor for the propagation of COTS outbreaks on New Caledonian reefs, given the high abundance and diversity of coral assemblages. Our findings reveal that localized and ephemeral COTS outbreaks can be naturally contained and do not necessarily result in widespread disturbances. specialized Coral reefs Acanthaster Predator outbreaks Monitoring Spatio-temporal variation New Caledonia NOUVELLE CALEDONIE PACIFIQUE 034 036 57 4 2018 1021-5506 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010072365 10.6620/zs.2018.57-04 1021-5506 [F B010072365] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010072365 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2018/03/010072365.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2018-04-03 2023-07-11 fdi:010072365 fre