Crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster spp.) is reported to have exceptional reproductive capacity, but this has been largely inferred based on the overall weight of gonads (and mostly for females), and there are limited estimates of the concentration of gametes within gametogenic tissues. This study quantified gamete concentrations for both male and female Pacific crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris), collected on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in 2014–2019. Gamete concentrations varied greatly among female starfish (12,338–133,810 oocytes g⁻¹), such that the estimated reproductive capacity ranged from < 1000 oocytes for the smallest (141 mm) individual up to 106 million oocytes for a 480-mm diameter female. Gamete concentrations were much more conserved for male starfish, and did not vary with size. Nonetheless, the total mass of gametogenic tissue increased with size, and fecundity of large males > 400-mm diameter approached 53 billion sperm. This study reaffirms that crown-of-thorns starfish have exceptional reproductive capacity, which is strongly size-dependent, but also varies greatly among individuals. Importantly, individual variation in reproductive output may be important in understanding for population irruptions of Acanthaster spp., and their concomitant effects on reef ecosystems.

据报道，荆棘冠海星（Acanthaster spp。）具有出色的繁殖能力，但这主要是根据性腺的总重量（主要是雌性）推断出的，而且对内配子浓度的估计有限。配子发生组织。这项研究量化了2014-2019年在澳大利亚大堡礁上采集的雄性和雌性太平洋荆棘冠海星（Acanthaster cf. solaris）的配子浓度。雌性海星中的配子浓度差异很大（12,338–133,810卵母细胞g ^-1），因此估计的生殖能力范围从最小的个体（141 mm）的<1000个卵母细胞到直径480 mm的雌性的1.06亿个卵母细胞不等。雄海星的配子浓度更为保守，且随大小而变化。尽管如此，配子发生组织的总质量随大小而增加，并且直径大于400毫米的雄性雄性的生殖力接近530亿精子。这项研究重申，荆棘冠海星具有非凡的繁殖能力，这与大小有很大关系，但个体之间的差异也很大。重要的是，在繁殖产量的个体差异可以理解为人口irruptions重要棘属，以及它们对珊瑚礁生态系统的影响相伴。