Australia‘s Great Barrier Reef is dying. Decades of human intervention have left the UNESCO World Heritage site reeling from the consequences of industrialization — water pollution and climate change, chief among them.

But it’s another threat, this one caused by nature but exacerbated by humans, that could prove most imminent: overfishing. By removing natural predators from the reef, Australia is now experiencing a “bloom” of crown-of-thorns starfish. Without predators, the reef offers an ideal habitat for the gorgeous, and destructive creatures, each of which may reach one meter in size. While a naturally present species, recent years have seen the…

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