Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Published April 24, 2019 | 17:01 EDT (Brief from the Royal Society)
Abundance of two co-occurring intertidal sea-star species shifted during the recent outbreak of sea star wasting disease along North America’s west coast. Pisaster ochraceus declined in abundance and size during the outbreak, while rare Evasterias troschelii became numerically dominant. The results suggest that indirect effects mediated by competition or other ecological relationships can mask the direct effects of disease outbreaks.
Corresponding author: Alyssa-Lois Gehman, University of British Columbia and Hakai Institute – alyssamina@gmail.com
