Dissolved free amino acid (DFAA) concentration in the Cairns Section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: implications for crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) larval nutrition

Water samples were collected for dissolved free amino acid (DFAA) analysis from 43 three stations on field trips to the Cairns Section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park during the summers of 1992/93, 1993/94 and 1994/95. Eighty six of the total 197 DFAA samples were collected 1-7 days after heavy rainfalls caused by the passage of a tropical cyclone (Sadie in January 1994) or monsoonal activity.DFAA analysis was conducted by high performance liquid chromotography (HPLC). The presence of eight DFAA species was investigated. These were aspartic acid (Asp), glutamic acid (Glu), serine (Ser), histidine (His), glycine (Gly), threonine (Thr), arginine (Arg) and alanine (Ala). Researchers have suggested that dissolved free amino acid (DFAA) may be of importance in the nutrition of the larvae of crown-of-thorns. The objectives of this research were:1. to measure the variation in background concentration of dissolved free amino acids during the spawning season of crown-of-thorns starfish2. to determine the magnitude to which the concentration of dissolved free amino acids is affected by nutrient inputs through episodic events, including heavy terrestrial runoff.