5 Destruction of the Great Barrier Reef Now it is apparent that the Great Barrier Reef is a fragile ecosystem as it is an interaction of these easily changeable factors, which brings us to the threats with which the Great Barrier Reef has to deal.
5.1 Natural destruction: Crown-of-thorns starfish It seems that every animal in the world acts as a source of food for other animals; this is also true for corals. The crown-of-thorns starfish, which has 21 thorny arms and a length of 80 cm, feeds on corals, coral polyps, and coral algae. These starfish are not commonly found in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, but some of them reach the area due to ocean currents, tropical storms or human activity. However, when the population of this specific kind of starfish increases at the Great Barrier Reef the reef “might be completely destroyed in two to three years”1. An invasion by these starfish causes devastation to the reef, as happened in 1970. Many parts of the Great Barrier Reef have been destroyed, and although the population of crown-of-thorns starfish near the reef is now negligible the reef still needs a long time to recover from this plague.2
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The cheapest way for the transport of the raw materials is the way through the Great Barrier Reef, and for this reason, many reefs were damaged by the construction of harbors built to support and boost the economy of Australia. The risks that a ship could stick a reef, animals could be injured or other accidents could happen seem to be ignored while planning and building these harbors. In 2010, a Chinese freighter damaged three kilometers of the Great Barrier Reef and about four tons of oil were spilled into the sea in this accident. The consequences of this disaster are still visible today; the corals have still not recovered and this part of the reef is almost completely