Scientists have finally solved the mystery of the sea star wasting disease that killed over 5 billion sea stars off the Pacific coast of North America in a decade-long epidemic. The disease, which began in 2013, has devastated over 20 species and continues today. The worst hit was the sunflower sea star, which lost around 90% of its population in the outbreak’s first five years. The cause of the disease was bacteria that has also infected shellfish, according to a study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. The findings “solve a long-standing question about a very serious disease in the ocean,” said marine disease ecologist Alyssa Gehman at the Hakai Institute in British Columbia, Canada. The new study includes detailed analysis of coelomic fluid, where bacteria Vibrio pectenicida were found. Scientists now have a better shot at intervening to help sea stars, potentially testing which remaining sea stars are still healthy and considering whether to relocate them or breed them in captivity to later transplant them to areas that have lost almost all their sunflower sea stars.
Scientists have identified the culprit behind the mass sea star deaths along the Pacific coast. Huong 118
