Acanthaster and the Coral Reef: A Theoretical Perspective
[Book]
Proceedings of a Workshop held at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Aug. 6-7, 1988 /
edited by Roger Bradbury.
Berlin, Heidelberg :
Springer Berlin Heidelberg,
1990.
Lecture Notes in Biomathematics,
88
0341-633X ;
The mathematical analysis of an outbreaking species, the crown-of-thorns starfish found on Indo-Pacific coral reefs was the central topic that brought together mathematicians, ecologists and oceanographers in an attempt to create a new paradigm for understanding this complex phenomenon. A wide variety of mathematical approaches was offered in the workshop, from traditional qualitative stability analysis to work on Finsler spaces, grammars and adaptive systems. Together they point to a new understanding of the dynamics of the outbreaks and of the stability of the coral reef ecosystems in which they occur.