The huge molluscs with their beautiful trumpet shells and an appetite for crown-of-thorns starfish could save huge areas of precious coral from being wiped out. Australia is spending £16 million to protect its greatest marine wonder from the starfish which, along with tropical cyclones, are blamed for half the reef's coral loss. With its toxic coating and ravenous appetite, the spikey starfish can eat their way through huge amounts of coral that form the backbone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Images show how quickly the starfish can turn the vibrant colourful corals into an underwater wasteland of gnarled and blackened tentacles. The threat posed by the starfish is all the deadlier because of the females' high fertility making them capable of releasing 65 million eggs during the spawning season.

The possibilities the triton breeding project opens up are exciting Australian Institute of Marine Science

Using giant triton sea snail - scientific name Charonia tritonis - to disrupt the starfishes' mating habits is being hailed as one the key strategies to protect the reef. Not only do the triton snails eat starfish, simply by giving off chemicals called secretomes will send the coral destroyers fleeing. "Researchers (have) found that there is potential the tritons could eventually be 'deployed' to prevent crown-of-thorns from closely aggregating during their spawning season, and this could help prevent the starfish from reaching outbreak numbers," the Australian Institute of Marine Science said this week. "The chemicals could potentially be synthesised to create alarm-inducing 'baits' to agitate starfish on reefs and limit outbreaks."

GETTY Australia is spending £16 million to protect the Great Barrier Reef

The Australian government is investing £336,000 on research trials to breed the triton snails, which are native to the coral reefs of the Pacific and Indian oceans and are legally protected in Queensland waters. At present, AIMS's collection of giant tritons have already produced 100,000 swimming snail larvae, with studies now in place to see how the young develop. "Very little is understood about their dietary requirements or the cues that trigger their metamorphosis into the adult snail," says the institute. "The research project focuses on helping triton larvae to transition to their juvenile and adult stages, providing the opportunity for further research into triton biology. "The possibilities the triton breeding project opens up are exciting. If successful, this research will allow scientists to closely look at the impact of giant tritons on crown-of-thorns' behaviour and test their potential as a management tool to help reduce coral lost to outbreaks."

GETTY The Australian government is investing £336,000 on research trials to breed triton snails

Stunning images from the Great Barrier Reef Thu, March 16, 2017 The beauty of the world's coral reef in pictures Play slideshow SWNS.com 1 of 24 Turtle reflection on the Great Barrier Reef