Sea stars, also commonly called starfish, are among the most abundant animals along the U.S. West Coast. But now scientists say an epidemic spurred by warming ocean waters is decimating sunflower sea stars, a critical predator in kelp forests. The sea stars’ collapse could wipe out the shallow water ecosystems that provide a home for seals, sea otters and commercially important fish.
“The epidemic was catastrophic and widespread,” said Drew Harvell, a marine ecologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, who led the new research. “Infectious disease is causing endangerment in not just sea stars but also corals and abalone and other species.”
A few years ago, Harvell’s research group discovered that a virus-sized pathogen was infecting sea creatures from California to Alaska and causing an epidemic called “sea star wasting disease.” The sickness affected more than 20 kinds of starfish, but sunflower sea stars were highly susceptible. The ...
