Question

Household vinegar advances the fight against crown of thorns starfish threat on Great Barrier Reef

ABC North Qld

By Kathleen Calderwood and Isobel Roe


Crown of thorns starfish (COTS) is a pest which eats coral tissues, posing a huge threat to the reef. Australian Institute of Marine Science research showed coral cover on surveyed reefs had declined by about 50% over the past 30 years, with COTS responsible for almost half of that decline. James Cook University scientist Lisa Boström-Einarsson searched for an eradication method for COTS that was cheap, easily available and safe for everything other than the starfish themselves. Her method involved injecting the COTS with 20 milliliters of household vinegar. The trial saw a 100% kill rate within 48 hours of injection. "I tried alcohol [first] and that did not work very well, and then I heard some rumors that some people had used vinegar but had not had very good results," Ms Boström-Einarsson said. "So I refined

Answer 1

The steps to be followed are as follows:

Problem: How to eliminate the COTS resulting in the reduction of coral population?

Hypothesis: The vinegar may assist in eradicating the COTS.

Procedure: Administer 20 ml of vinegar in the COTS and access the population remaining after some time period.

Results: Vinegar eliminates 100 percent of the COTS, within 2 days.