Acanthaster is potentially the most important corallivore in the eastern Pacific, due to its large size and high rate of consumption (about 0.5 m” of coral tissue per month). This corallivore is especially interesting ecologically because of its preferential feeding behavior; it tends to prey on massive, encrusting and nodular coral species, often avoiding branching corals such as Pocillopora spp.
Source: wiktionary