Sea star wasting disease

Last updated
The leg of this Pisaster ochraceus sea star in Oregon is disintegrating as a result of sea star wasting syndrome Dying purple ochre sea star.jpg
The leg of this Pisaster ochraceus sea star in Oregon is disintegrating as a result of sea star wasting syndrome

Sea star wasting disease or starfish wasting syndrome is a disease of starfish and several other echinoderms that appears sporadically, causing mass mortality of those affected. [1] There are approximately 40 species of sea stars that have been affected by this disease. At least 20 of these species were on the Northwestern coast of Mexico to Alaska. [2] The disease seems to be associated with increased water temperatures in some locales, [3] [4] but not others. [5] [6] It starts with the emergence of lesions, followed by body fragmentation and death. [7] In 2014 it was suggested that the disease is associated with a single-stranded DNA virus now known as the sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV). [8] However, this hypothesis was refuted by recent research in 2018 and 2020. [9] [10] [11] Sea star wasting disease is still not fully understood. [7] [12]

Contents

Symptoms

Typically the first symptom of sea star wasting disease is refusal to accept food followed by listlessness for weeks and then white lesions that appear on the surface of the starfish and spread rapidly, followed by decay of tissue surrounding the lesions. Next the animal becomes limp as the water vascular system fails and it is no longer able to maintain its internal hydrostatic balance. [13] The sea star loses its grip on the substrate. The body structure begins to break down, signs of stretching appear between the arms which may twist and fall off, and the animal dies. The arms may continue to crawl around for a while after being shed. Progression of these events can be rapid, leading to death within a few days. [14] [15]

A deflated appearance can precede other morphological signs of the disease. All of these symptoms are also associated with ordinary attributes of unhealthy stars and can arise when an individual is stranded too high in the intertidal zone (for example) and simply desiccates. "True" wasting disease will be present in individuals that are found in suitable habitat, often in the midst of other individuals that might also be affected. [15]

The final result is a disintegrated, white, mushy blob, which no longer seems to be a sea star. [16]

1972 plague

The 1972 plague was the first notable case of Sea Star Wasting Disease. [17] Scientists noticed a rapidly declining population of common starfish ( Asterias rubens ) occurring off the east coast of the United States. [18] The symptoms were that the starfish became limp and lost limbs until finally melting into a white mucus-like paste. [17] [19]

1978 plague

In 1978 large numbers of Heliaster kubiniji succumbed to a wasting disease in the Gulf of California. At the time, it was suspected that high water temperatures were a causal factor. This sea star became locally extinct in some parts of the gulf, and some populations had not recovered by the year 2000. Because this sea star is a top-level predator, its disappearance had profound effects on the ecosystem. [20] In the Channel Islands off the coast of California, ten species of sea star were recorded as being affected as well as three species of sea urchins, two brittle stars and a sea cucumber, all of which experienced large population declines. [21]

2013–current plagues

In July 2013, populations of sea stars declined rapidly on the east coast of the US between New Jersey and Maine. There had been a great increase in sea star numbers three years earlier, though in 2013 they were dying off. No cause for the mysterious deaths was apparent. [22] On the Pacific coast, a meltdown of sea stars was first found in ochre stars and sunflower stars in Howe Sound, British Columbia. In late August, the disease had also been found stretching from Alaska to the border of Mexico, [23] affecting more than 20 species of sea stars on the west coast of North America. [24]

At the beginning of September 2013, a mass die-off of sea stars was reported off the coast of British Columbia. The sea bed was littered with disintegrating sunflower stars ( Pycnopodia helianthoides ), their detached arms and discs. Another species also suffering mortalities was the morning sun star ( Solaster dawsoni ), but no cause for the deaths was apparent. If they were caused by infection or toxins, the two species might have affected each other because the diet of each includes sea stars. [25]

In spring/summer 2013, reports of sea stars experiencing wasting symptoms came from Vancouver, B.C. and from southern and central California. [26] Observations of symptoms spread throughout California, Washington and southern Canada throughout 2013, but sea star wasting disease did not begin affecting sea stars in the intertidal zone in Oregon until spring 2014. [5] The relatively high resolution of understanding of the pattern of disease spread came from marine scientists working along the coast, but also from citizen scientists visiting the coast and uploading their observations, of where they saw sea stars both with and without disease symptoms, to an online sea star wasting observation log database. [27]

Because scientists had been studying sea star populations before the outbreak of sea star wasting disease, there is a good understanding of how the disease affected population sizes and dynamics. A study of the ochre sea star ( Pisaster ochraceus ) populations from San Diego, California, to southern British Columbia, along with at two locations near Sitka, Alaska, found that population declines were proportionately greater for sea stars in the southern part of the coast than the north; [6] population numbers are usually higher at more northerly locations, so the number of sea stars that died from wasting disease was often higher at more northern sites.

In October 2013, in a marine laboratory seawater tank in California holding various species of sea stars, other species started displaying similar symptoms. The ochre star ( Pisaster ochraceus ) was the first affected. Most of these developed symptoms, lost arms and died over the course of a week or so. Later the rainbow star ( Orthasterias koehleri ) developed the disease and died, but the bat star ( Patiria miniata ) and leather star ( Dermasterias imbricata ), which were living in the same tank and had been scavenging on the corpses, showed no ill effects. [14] At Natural Bridges State Marine Reserve in California, the ochre star is normally a common resident on the mussel beds, but by November 2013 it was reported to have completely disappeared. [14]

As of 2021, the Sea Star Wasting Disease, following its initial outbreak in 2013, is regarded as a record-breaking marine epizootic. [28]

There have been signs of some recovery of ochre sea star populations ( Pisaster ochraceus ), with higher numbers of juvenile sea stars in the intertidal than had been previously common, especially for northern sites along the Pacific coast. [6] [5] [29] However, the biomass and the function of ochre sea stars in their communities, such as being important predators of mussels, has remained lower than pre-disease levels. [5] [29]

Locations

Currently, most cases are located on the west coast of North America, affecting sea stars from Baja California to the gulf of Alaska. [30] Sea star wasting events have also been reported worldwide. [31]

Causes

As of November 2013, no identifiable cause for the disease had been found. [8] [32] Pathogenic bacteria did not seem to be present, and though the plague might be caused by a viral or fungal pathogen, [8] no causal agent had been found. Each episode of plague might have a different cause. [19]

Other possible causes of the condition that have been suggested include high sea temperatures, oxygen depletion and low salinity due to freshwater runoff. Research suggests that high water temperatures can be indeed linked to the disease, increasing its incidence and virulence. The disease also seems more prevalent in sheltered waters than in open seas with much wave movement. One result of global warming is higher sea temperatures. There is a wave of unusually warm water along the west coast of the United States, which is where all of the sea stars are dying off. [33] These may impact both on starfish and on echinoderm populations in general, and a ciliate protozoan parasite ( Orchitophrya stellarum ) of starfish, which eats sperm and effectively emasculates male starfish, thrives at higher temperatures. [34] However, temperature was not related to the initial outbreak of sea star wasting disease at many places along the coast. [6] [5] Unlike with many other wildlife diseases, there was no link between the density of sea stars at a location before disease outbreak and the severity of population decline. [6] Thus, this outbreak has defied prediction using what is typically understood about disease spread.

Research in 2014 showed that the cause of the disease is transmissible from one starfish to another and that the disease-causing agent is a microorganism in the virus-size range. [8] The most likely candidate causal agent was found to be the sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV), which was found to be in greater abundance in diseased starfish than in healthy ones. [12] [35] However, evidence for this virus as the cause of sea star wasting disease is inconclusive. In addition, the process of how the virus kills sea stars is not fully understood either. [8] Subsequent work in 2018 and 2020 showed that SSaDV was not associated with sea star wasting disease. [9] [10] [11] Sea star wasting disease may not be pathogenic or infectious in nature. Work in 2021 provided evidence that sea star wasting disease may be linked to microorganisms that inhabit the diffusive boundary layer around sea star tissues; elevated water temperatures and increased supply or organic matter which is released from phytoplankton may cause these bacteria to deplete oxygen in waters around sea stars and thus affect the ability of sea stars to respire. [36]

Treatment

In 2014, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium lost more than half of its 369 sea stars, and by September 2015 they numbered fewer than 100. The aquarium treated its affected sea stars with antibiotics in 2014, which proved effective. [37] The Oregon Coast Aquarium treated their affected sea stars with Seachem Reef Dip, followed by probiotics. [38] Although a mechanism is still unknown, evidence suggests that a single mutation in the elongation factor 1-alpha locus in Pisaster ochraceus may be associated with reduced mortality. [39]

Species affected

Most affected (high mortality rates):

Affected (some mortality):

[8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starfish</span> Class of echinoderms, marine animal

Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish are also known as asteroids due to being in the class Asteroidea. About 1,900 species of starfish live on the seabed in all the world's oceans, from warm, tropical zones to frigid, polar regions. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, at 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keystone species</span> Species with a large effect on its environment

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, a concept introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine. Keystone species play a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community. Without keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. Some keystone species, such as the wolf, are also apex predators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madreporite</span> Opening used to filter water in echinoderms

The madreporite is a light colored calcareous opening used to filter water into the water vascular system of echinoderms. It acts like a pressure-equalizing valve. It is visible as a small red or yellow button-like structure, looking like a small wart, on the aboral surface of the central disk of a sea star or sea urchin or the oral surface of Ophiuroidea. Close up, it is visibly structured, resembling a "madrepore" colony. From this, it derives its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tube feet</span> Multipurpose organs of echinoderms

Tube feet are small active tubular projections on the oral face of an echinoderm, whether the arms of a starfish, or the undersides of sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers; they are more discreet though present on brittle stars, and have only a feeding function in feather stars. They are part of the water vascular system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California mussel</span> Species of bivalve

The California mussel is a large edible mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mytilidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunflower sea star</span> Species of echinoderm

Pycnopodia helianthoides, commonly known as the sunflower sea star, is a large sea star found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The only species of its genus, it is among the largest sea stars in the world, with a maximum arm span of 1 m (3.3 ft). Adult sunflower sea stars usually have 16 to 24 limbs. They vary in color. A carnivorous animal, Sunflower sea stars eat many different kinds of dead and alive prey to fill their diets. They are predatory, feeding mostly on sea urchins, clams, sea snails, and other small invertebrates. Although the species was widely distributed throughout the northeast Pacific, its population rapidly declined from 2013. The sunflower sea star is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davenport tide pools</span>

The Davenport Tide Pools are located just past the town of Davenport, California in the United States. They are located off Davenport Landing, which is a street off Highway 1. The tide pools are unique due to the ridges that run up and down the tide pools, allowing for different organisms to live close, even though in a normal habitat they would be unable to do so. The Beach is open sunrise to sunset, and is day use only.

<i>Pisaster</i> Genus of starfishes

Pisaster is a genus of Pacific sea stars that includes three species, P. brevispinus, P. giganteus, and P. ochraceus. Their range extends along the Pacific coast from Alaska to southern California in the intertidal zone. The largest individuals of Pisaster can reach diameters of up to 70 cm (28 in) across; they all develop five arms, but some may be lost from injury or disease, and occasionally the re-growth of an injured arm will result in an individual with more than five arms.

<i>Pisaster ochraceus</i> Species of starfish

Pisaster ochraceus, generally known as the purple sea star, ochre sea star, or ochre starfish, is a common seastar found among the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Identified as a keystone species, P. ochraceus is considered an important indicator for the health of the intertidal zone.

<i>Crassadoma</i> Genus of bivalves

Crassadoma is a genus of rock scallops, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Pectinidae. It is monotypic, the only species being Crassadoma gigantea, the rock scallop, giant rock scallop or purple-hinge rock scallop. Although the small juveniles are free-swimming, they soon become sessile, and are cemented to the substrate. These scallops occur in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Leptasterias</i> Genus of starfishes

Leptasterias is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Members of this genus are characterised by having six arms although five-armed specimens sometimes occur. L. muelleri is the type species. The taxonomy of the genus is confusing and Leptasterias hexactis seems to be a species complex. Some species brood their eggs.

<i>Solaster dawsoni</i> Species of starfish

Solaster dawsoni, the morning sun star, is a species of starfish in the family Solasteridae. It is found on either side of the northern Pacific Ocean. It has two subspecies:

Orchitophrya stellarum is a species of single-celled marine ciliates, a member of the class Oligohymenophorea. It is found living freely in the north Atlantic and Pacific Oceans but is also parasitic, being found inside the gonads of starfish.

<i>Evasterias troschelii</i> Species of starfish

Evasterias troschelii is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Its common names include the mottled star, false ochre sea star and Troschel's true star. It is found in Kamchatka and the north western coast of North America.

<i>Heliaster kubiniji</i> Species of starfish

Heliaster kubiniji is a species of starfish in the order Forcipulatida. It is commonly known as the gulf sun star, the common sun star or estrella de mar de golfo and it occurs in the intertidal zone of the Pacific coast of California, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV) belongs to the Parvoviridae family. Like the other members of its family, it is a single-stranded DNA virus. SSaDV has been suggested to be an etiological agent of sea star wasting disease, but conclusive evidence has not yet been obtained. Further work in 2018 and 2020 re-examined the association between SSaDV and sea star wasting and found no evidence in both the original work and subsequent surveys of sea stars. More recently, densoviruses associated with echinoderms were recognized as forming persistent infections in their hosts and become endogenized within sea star genomic DNA. Densoviruses including SSaDV become more pronounced during sea star wasting progression, but no single strain is associated with sea star wasting disease.

<i>Ptilosarcus gurneyi</i> Species of coral

Ptilosarcus gurneyi, the orange sea pen or fleshy sea pen, is a species of sea pen in the family Pennatulidae. It is native to the northeastern Pacific Ocean where it lives in deep water anchored by its base in sand or mud. It has received its common name because of its resemblance to a quill in a bottle of ink.

<i>Semibalanus cariosus</i> Species of barnacle

Semibalanus cariosus, commonly known as the thatched barnacle, rock barnacle or horse barnacle, is a species of acorn barnacle occurring in the northern Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine heatwave</span> Unusually warm temperature event in the ocean

A marine heatwave is a period of abnormally high ocean temperatures relative to the average seasonal temperature in a particular marine region. Marine heatwaves are caused by a variety of factors, including shorter term weather phenomena such as fronts, intraseasonal events, annual, or decadal (10-year) modes like El Niño events, and longer term changes like climate change. Marine heatwaves can have biological impacts on ecosystems at individual, population, and community levels. MHWs have led to severe biodiversity changes such as coral bleaching, sea star wasting disease, harmful algal blooms, and mass mortality of benthic communities. Unlike heatwaves on land, marine heatwaves can extend for millions of square kilometers, persist for weeks to months or even years, and occur at subsurface levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Hewson</span> American oceanographer and academic

Ian Hewson is an Australian American biological oceanographer and marine ecologist who is a professor of microbiology at Cornell University. He leads the Cornell Marine Mass Mortality Laboratory, where he studies the drives of marine mass mortalities. He was leader of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Department of Microbiology.

References

  1. ↑ Dawsoni, Solaster. "Sea Star Species Affected by Wasting Syndrome." Pacificrockyintertidal.org Seastarwasting.org (n.d.): n. pag. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Web.
  2. ↑ "Sea Star Wasting Syndrome (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  3. ↑ Eisenlord, Morgan E.; Groner, Maya L.; Yoshioka, Reyn M.; Elliott, Joel; Maynard, Jeffrey; Fradkin, Steven; Turner, Margaret; Pyne, Katie; Rivlin, Natalie (2016-03-05). "Ochre star mortality during the 2014 wasting disease epizootic: role of population size structure and temperature". Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 371 (1689): 20150212. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0212. ISSN   0962-8436. PMC   4760142 . PMID   26880844.
  4. ↑ Bates, Amanda E.; Hilton, Brett J.; Harley, Christopher D. G. (2009-11-09). "Effects of temperature, season and locality on wasting disease in the keystone predatory sea star Pisaster ochraceus". Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 86 (3): 245–251. doi: 10.3354/dao02125 . ISSN   0177-5103. PMID   20066959.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Menge, Bruce A.; Cerny-Chipman, Elizabeth B.; Johnson, Angela; Sullivan, Jenna; Gravem, Sarah; Chan, Francis (2016-05-04). "Sea Star Wasting Disease in the Keystone Predator Pisaster ochraceus in Oregon: Insights into Differential Population Impacts, Recovery, Predation Rate, and Temperature Effects from Long-Term Research". PLOS ONE. 11 (5): e0153994. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1153994M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153994 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   4856327 . PMID   27144391.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Miner, C. Melissa; Burnaford, Jennifer L.; Ambrose, Richard F.; Antrim, Liam; Bohlmann, Heath; Blanchette, Carol A.; Engle, John M.; Fradkin, Steven C.; Gaddam, Rani (2018-03-20). "Large-scale impacts of sea star wasting disease (SSWD) on intertidal sea stars and implications for recovery". PLOS ONE. 13 (3): e0192870. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1392870M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192870 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   5860697 . PMID   29558484.
  7. 1 2 "Sea Star Wasting Syndrome". UC Santa Cruz. Pacific Rocky Intertidal Monitoring. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hewson, Ian; Button, Jason B.; Gudenkauf, Brent M.; Miner, Benjamin; Newton, Alisa L.; Gaydos, Joseph K.; Wynne, Janna; Groves, Cathy L.; Hendler, Gordon; Murray, Michael; Fradkin, Steven; Breitbart, Mya; Fahsbender, Elizabeth; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Kilpatrick, A. Marm (2014-12-02). "Densovirus associated with sea-star wasting disease and mass mortality". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (48): 17278–17283. Bibcode:2014PNAS..11117278H. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1416625111 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   4260605 . PMID   25404293.
  9. 1 2 Hewson, Ian; Bistolas, Kalia S. I.; Quijano Cardé, Eva M.; Button, Jason B.; Foster, Parker J.; Flanzenbaum, Jacob M.; Kocian, Jan; Lewis, Chaunte K. (2018). "Investigating the Complex Association Between Viral Ecology, Environment, and Northeast Pacific Sea Star Wasting". Frontiers in Marine Science. 5. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2018.00077 . ISSN   2296-7745.
  10. 1 2 Hewson, Ian; Aquino, Citlalli A.; DeRito, Christopher M. (November 2020). "Virome Variation during Sea Star Wasting Disease Progression in Pisaster ochraceus (Asteroidea, Echinodermata)". Viruses. 12 (11): 1332. doi: 10.3390/v12111332 . PMC   7699681 . PMID   33233680.
  11. 1 2 Jackson, Elliot W.; Wilhelm, Roland C.; Johnson, Mitchell R.; Lutz, Holly L.; Danforth, Isabelle; Gaydos, Joseph K.; Hart, Michael W.; Hewson, Ian (2020-12-09). "Diversity of Sea Star-Associated Densoviruses and Transcribed Endogenous Viral Elements of Densovirus Origin". Journal of Virology. 95 (1). doi: 10.1128/JVI.01594-20 . ISSN   0022-538X. PMC   7737747 . PMID   32967964.
  12. 1 2 Hewson, Ian; et al. (2014). "Densovirus associated with sea-star wasting disease and mass mortality". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 111 (48): 17278–83. Bibcode:2014PNAS..11117278H. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1416625111 . PMC   4260605 . PMID   25404293.
  13. ↑ "Sea Star Wasting Syndrome (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  14. 1 2 3 Gong, Allison J. (2013-09-07). "A plague of stars". Notes from a California naturalist. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  15. 1 2 "Sea Star Wasting Syndrome". Pacific Rocky Intertidal Monitoring: Trends and Synthesis. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
  16. ↑ Hildering, Jackie (21 December 2013). Giant pink star with sea star wasting syndrome. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  17. 1 2 Meyer, Anna. "Will the Sea Stars Ever Be Able to Recover? - Islands' Sounder." Islands' Sounder. N.p., 20 July 2015. Web. 8 October 2015.
  18. ↑ Menge, Bruce A. (August 1979). "Coexistence between the seastars Asterias vulgaris and A. forbesi in a heterogeneous environment: A non-equilibrium explanation". Oecologia. 41 (3): 245–272. Bibcode:1979Oecol..41..245M. doi:10.1007/bf00377430. ISSN   0029-8549. PMID   28309763. S2CID   602687.
  19. 1 2 Mah, Christopher (2013-09-10). "Starfish Wasting Disease!". Echinoblog. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  20. ↑ Dungan, Michael L.; Miller, Thomas E.; Thomson, Donald A. (1982). "Catastrophic Decline of a Top Carnivore in the Gulf of California Rocky Intertidal Zone". Science. 216 (4549): 989–991. Bibcode:1982Sci...216..989D. doi:10.1126/science.216.4549.989. PMID   17809070. S2CID   19422177.
  21. ↑ Eckert, Ginny L.; Engle, John M.; Kushner, David J. (2000). "Sea star disease and population declines at the Channel Islands" (PDF). Proceedings of the Fifth California Islands Symposium. Minerals Management Service 99-0038: 390–393.
  22. ↑ Laine, Martin (2013-07-24). "Massive east coast starfish die-off reported". Digital Journal. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  23. ↑ "Sea Star Wasting Syndrome Now Documented on NE Vancouver Island". The Marine Detective. 21 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  24. ↑ Harvell, C. D.; Montecino-Latorre, D.; Caldwell, J. M.; Burt, J. M.; Bosley, K.; Keller, A.; Heron, S. F.; Salomon, A. K.; Lee, L.; Pontier, O.; Pattengill-Semmens, C.; Gaydos, J. K. (2019-01-04). "Disease epidemic and a marine heat wave are associated with the continental-scale collapse of a pivotal predator ( Pycnopodia helianthoides )". Science Advances. 5 (1): eaau7042. Bibcode:2019SciA....5.7042H. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aau7042. ISSN   2375-2548. PMC   6353623 . PMID   30729157.
  25. ↑ Mah, Christopher (2013-09-03). "Mysterious Mass Sunflower Starfish (Pycnopodia) Die-off in British Columbia". Echinoblog. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  26. ↑ "Pacific Rocky Intertidal Monitoring". data.piscoweb.org. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  27. ↑ "MARINe Sea Star Logs". gordon.science.oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  28. ↑ Gravem, S. A.; Heady, W. N.; Saccomanno, V. R.; Alvstad, K. F.; Gehman, A. L. M.; Frierson, T. N.; Hamilton, S. L. (2021). "Pycnopodia helianthoides (Sunflower Sea Star)". IUCN Red List. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T178290276A197818455.en . Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  29. 1 2 Moritsch, Monica M.; Raimondi, Peter T. (2018-03-23). "Reduction and recovery of keystone predation pressure after disease-related mass mortality". Ecology and Evolution. 8 (8): 3952–3964. doi:10.1002/ece3.3953. ISSN   2045-7758. PMC   5916292 . PMID   29721271.
  30. ↑ "Pacific Rocky Intertidal Monitoring: Trends and Synthesis." Pacific Rocky Intertidal Monitoring. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 October 2015
  31. ↑ Hewson, Ian; Sullivan, Brooke; Jackson, Elliot W.; Xu, Qiang; Long, Hao; Lin, Chenggang; Quijano Cardé, Eva Marie; Seymour, Justin; Siboni, Nachshon; Jones, Matthew R. L.; Sewell, Mary A. (2019-07-11). "Perspective: Something Old, Something New? Review of Wasting and Other Mortality in Asteroidea (Echinodermata)". Frontiers in Marine Science. 6. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00406 . hdl: 10453/136484 . ISSN   2296-7745.
  32. ↑ McCracken, Andrew R.; Christensen, Blair M.; Munteanu, Daniel; Case, B. K. M.; Lloyd, Melanie; Herbert, Kyle P.; Pespeni, Melissa H. (2023). "Microbial dysbiosis precedes signs of sea star wasting disease in wild populations of Pycnopodia helianthoides". Frontiers in Marine Science. 10. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1130912 . ISSN   2296-7745.
  33. ↑ "'Warm Blob' of Water Causing Extreme Weather, Climate Scientists Say". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  34. ↑ Mah, Christopher (2010-07-20). "Another Worry From Global Warming: Parasites that eat Starfish Sperm". Echinoblog. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  35. ↑ Netburn, Deborah (November 26, 2014) "Scientists find likely culprit behind mysterious sea star deaths" Los Angeles Times
  36. ↑ Aquino, Citlalli A.; Besemer, Ryan M.; DeRito, Christopher M.; Kocian, Jan; Porter, Ian R.; Raimondi, Peter T.; Rede, Jordan E.; Schiebelhut, Lauren M.; Sparks, Jed P.; Wares, John P.; Hewson, Ian (2021). "Evidence That Microorganisms at the Animal-Water Interface Drive Sea Star Wasting Disease". Frontiers in Microbiology. 11: 610009. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.610009 . ISSN   1664-302X. PMC   7815596 . PMID   33488550.
  37. ↑ Glenn, Stacia (8 September 2015). "Point Defiance loses half its sea stars to a wasting aquatic disease". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  38. ↑ Rudek, Tiffany; Collura, Evonne Mochon (2023-01-16). "Sea Star Illness Treatment Protocol".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  39. ↑ Wares, John P.; Schiebelhut, Lauren M. (2016-03-29). "What doesn't kill them makes them stronger: an association between elongation factor 1-α overdominance in the sea star Pisaster ochraceus and "sea star wasting disease"". PeerJ. 4: e1876. doi: 10.7717/peerj.1876 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   4824914 . PMID   27069810.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.