Young Sea Stars Spark Recovery for Species

Photo credit: www.rockymtnref.com 

Young sea stars (or star fish) found along the Oregon coast could mean the beginning of recovery for this species.

In the summer of 2013, a sea star wasting disease spread along the West coast wiping out the sea star population from Alaska to Southern California. The diseases cause lesions that melt the starfish bodies, turning them into goo.

But it looks like good news is coming for the sea stars. In early October, divers from the Oregon Coast Aquarium identified hundreds of young sea stars on Florence’s North Jetty.

Aquarium dive safety officer Jenna Walker said, “When we first got down there it looked like the rocks were covered with barnacles [but] we soon realized those white spots were thousands and thousands of stars. I have never seen them in numbers like that. It was pretty incredible.”

These are the first young sea stars to be spotted since the disease began spreading along the coast.

Scientist are unsure of what began the initial outbreak. Generally, the disease would only affect one species but in the West coast case it affected up to twelve different starfish populations.

The aquarium will continue to monitor the sea star populations, hoping that the abundance of youth means the species are recovering from the disease.

Source: www.statesmanjournal.com