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Epidemi nan Drupella ka lakòz siyifikatif mòtalite sou resif koray. Pou egzanp, nan lwès Ostrali ak Japon, Drupella epidemi yo te redwi anpil nan kouvèti koray la. ref Nan nòdwès Ostrali, Drupella koze anpil mòtalite, detwi 90% nan koray nan pati nan Reef nan nò nan Reef Ningaloo. ref Twòp lapèch sou Ningaloo Reef ka te lakòz la Drupella popilasyon pou ogmante, akòz diminution predasyon pa pwason (pa egzanp lè w, triggerfish, porcupinefish, wrasses, snappers, ak anperè waf), ki te tou te anrejistre nan kenya resif yo kote yo te ogmante anpil nan 1980s yo. ref Malgre ke Drupella epidemi an fèt, anjeneral Drupella rive nan pi ba densite. Sepandan, menm nan pi ba densite Drupella ka toujou enfliyanse estrikti a nan Reef la. Menm jan ak kouwòn pikan an etwal lanmè, Drupella ka ede tou pou kenbe divèsite koray pa patirwa desann pi vit koray k ap grandi (eg, Acropora) pou pèmèt espès yo ap grandi pi dousman yo vin etabli.
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Outbreaks of Drupella can cause significant mortality on coral reefs. For example, in western Australia and Japan, Drupella outbreaks have drastically reduced coral cover. ref In northwest Australia, Drupella caused extensive mortality, destroying 90% of corals in parts of the northern reef at Ningaloo Reef. ref Overfishing on Ningaloo Reef may have caused the Drupella population to increase, due to decreased predation by fish (e.g., triggerfish, porcupinefish, wrasses, snappers, and emperor breams), which was also recorded in Kenyan reefs where their numbers increased greatly in the 1980s. ref Although Drupella outbreaks do occur, typically Drupella occur in lower densities. However, even at lower densities Drupella can still influence the structure of the reef. Similar to crown-of-thorns starfish, Drupella may also help to maintain coral diversity by grazing down faster growing corals (e.g., Acropora) to allow for slower-growing species to become established.