Scientists on the West Coast are looking for action to help sunflower sea stars, among the world’s largest sea stars, recover from a catastrophic population decline.
Experts say a devastating marine epidemic that began in 2013 has decimated nearly 95% of the population from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to the Baja California peninsula, The Astorian reported. as it is most vulnerable in 2020. An application to register the species under the federal Endangered Species Act was filed in 2021.
warm seas cause weight Starfish die off according to new study Steven Rumrill, shellfish program leader at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife , said that in his more than 40 years as a marine scientist, he had never seen such a widespread decline in species on such a scale. like the star of the sunflower sea.
Story continues below advertisement Sea stars, which are among the largest in the world and can be over 91 feet (91 centimeters), can eat a sea urchin that eats kelp. Without them, the sea urchin population has exploded, causing a worrying decline in the kelp forests that provide food and shelter for many marine animals along the West Coast.
SFU research hopes to shed new light on why so many sea stars are dying Rumrill said. “Globally, we see that human impacts have had a huge impact on people and a lot of extinctions around the world.
Here is another happening before our eyes.” The road map was completed in collaboration with the Nature Conservancy, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and federal agencies in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Story continues below advertisement Starfish wasting disease is estimated to have killed more than 5.75 billion sunflower sea stars, according to the document.
study The cause of the outbreak has not been fully identified, but the document points to evidence that warming seawater due to human-caused climate change is increasing the severity of the disease and may lead to listing under the Endangered Species Act, Rumrill said. Matthew Burks, spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said whether the agency recommends that the starfish be listed under the Endangered Species Act will be submitted to the Federal Register early next year.
Although sunflower sea stars appear to be the most affected by starfish wasting disease, they are among about 20 species of starfish that are endangered along the West Coast. & copy 2022 The Canadian Press
