They attribute the decline to storms, a coral-feeding starfish and bleaching linked to climate change.
The remaining two-fifths, they say, was predation by the crown-of-thorns starfish.
ECONOMIST: The Great Barrier Reef: Dr De��ath v the killer starfish | The
The World Wildlife Fund offers a commercial tour in Palau, Micronesia on which snorkelers can help their guide remove the invasive crown-of-thorns starfish, which every day eat their weight in coral polyps from fragile reefs.
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John Gunn, head of AIMS, said it was difficult to stop the storms and bleaching but researchers could focus their short-term efforts on the crown-of-thorns starfish, which feasts on coral polyps and can devastate reef cover.
Glen De'ath from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and colleagues determined that tropical cyclones - 34 in total since 1985 - were responsible for 48% of the damage, while outbreaks of the coral-feeding crown-of-thorns starfish accounted for 42%.
The study said improving water quality was key to controlling starfish outbreaks, with increased agricultural run-off such as fertiliser along the reef coast causing algal blooms that starfish larvae feed on.
Footage of three-foot worms and carnivorous starfish feasting on a seal carcass at the bottom of the Antarctic, from the Life series, was shown on screens during the show.
In January Tilton proposed to split off a big chunk of the carrier later this year and turn it into a low-cost airline, rumored to be named Starfish, that could compete with JetBlue and Southwest.
Among the six ivories in the group is a pair of saltcellars carved with images of starfish, birds and coiled snakes that were created by late 15th-century Sapi artists, the forebears of today's Bulom and Temne peoples in Sierra Leone.
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Efforts to cull the starfish have had some success, but a better approach would be to reduce agricultural run-off and thus cut the banquet enjoyed by the larvae.
ECONOMIST: The Great Barrier Reef: Dr De��ath v the killer starfish | The
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