Starfish by the starfish in an escape response. The loss of parts of the body is achieved by the rapid softening of a special type of connective tissue in response to nervous signals. This type of tissue is called catch connective tissue and is found in most echinoderms. An autotomy-promoting factor has been identified which, when injected into another starfish, causes rapid shedding of arms. The lifespan of a starfish varies considerably between species, generally being longer in larger forms and in those with planktonic larvae. For example, "Leptasterias hexactis" broods a small number of large-yolked eggs. It has an adult
Kina (animal) can be entirely eaten away, leaving bare rocks, also known as Kina Barrens. Larval stages can feed on different species of unicellular algae in a size range between 5 and 50 µm (MacEdward and Miner 2007). Molluscs such as the cymatiid gastropods "Charonia capax" and "C. rudicunda", starfish, and benthic feeding fishes can feed on individuals of "E. chloroticus" (Dix 1970a). The most important predators are the eleven-armed sea star, "Coscinasterias calamaria", the seven-armed prickly starfish, "Astrostole scabra", and the spiny lobster, "Jasus edwardsii" (Andrew and MacDiarmid 1991, Barker 2007). "Evechinus chloroticus" has an annual breeding cycle (Dix 1970b). It