In California, as is the case with most of the worldwide diving community, the majority of us spend a lot more time admiring the beauty and antics of smaller creatures that inhabit our kelp forests, rocky reefs and sand flats. While those smaller wonders often leave us scratching our heads in sheer amazement during our dives, they don’t grab the headlines as often as larger animals like gray whales, sharks and dolphins do.
Sea stars provide classic examples of these smaller wonders. But in this issue sea stars do grab a headline. In this month’s CDN, Bonnie Cardone provides us with a wonderful overview of their natural history.
Unfortunately, all is not well in the world of sea stars. Things are out of balance. At least since June 2013, the populations of many species of sea stars along the west coast of North America have been decimated by an affliction known as sea star wasting syndrome. The broader syndrome describes a number of symptoms including rapidly growing skin lesions, tissue decay, fragmentation and death.
The syndrome was first seen in ochre stars in waters along the coast of Washington. Since then it has been documented from Alaska into Mexico, and it has serious implications on the populations of a number of species of sea stars as well as the overall health of our oceans.