Science Advances
Published January 30, 2019 14:00 ET (News release from Science Advances)
From California to British Columbia, sunflower starfish – an important predator in the Northeast Pacific – declined dramatically in both nearshore and deep waters from 2013 to 2015. Both the sea star wasting disease that ravaged the waters of the Northeast Pacific and warmer sea surface temperatures caused the decline. The decline has affected kelp beds, with the rise of the sea star’s main prey, sea urchin, which eat kelp.
Video and images
Canadian co-authors: Jenn Burt, Simon Fraser University – jenn.burt@gmail.com; Anne Salomon, Simon Fraser University – anne_salomon@sfu.ca; O. Pontier, Hakai Institute, Quadra Island, BC – media@hakai.org