Upset In The Ocean

Sea Stars (no longer considered called Star Fishes) are marine animals, part of the class Asteroidea. They are carnivorous invertebrates and can live up to 35 years. Despite the number of arms on a sea star averaging 5, they can grow up to 40 limbs. Sea Stars can be found almost anywhere but those located in the Pacific Ocean are getting hit with a mysterious condition.
This condition starts out as a white or black lesion on the sea star’s body. From there, it spreads all over the body, causing its arms to decay. In the worst cases, the entire sea star disintegrates completely. Jeff Marliare, a Vancouver Aquarium biologist, says “an arm will actually break off and crawl away. (Then) they turn into goo.” Sea stars living in aquariums aren’t safe from this affliction. Aquariums prone to pump in ocean water for their exhibits have reported their sea stars showing signs of this ailment. Many known establishments such as the Gulf National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center, The Vancouver Aquarium, and Seymour Center have been key hit spots. Infected sea stars caused concern for the friends other species that live with themin close proximity, such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers, but so far they appear to be immune. The infected sea stars are either used for study or are immediately euthanized.
What is the disease causing mayhem among the sea star circle? Now dubbed as Sea Star Wasting Symptom (S.S.W.S. or S.W.S.), this affliction has been puzzling scientists for months. From the reports of citizens and experts, it’s now understood that this can be found as far asfrom Alaska to South California. While this has been spotted before, it’s never attacked this many species at this magnitude. In the past, those populations bounced back but this isn’t the case today. The most affected sea star is the Purple Sea Star. Their absence could spell disaster for the oceanic food chain. Their source of food could grow rapidly and crowd out the other species, causing them to either die off or search for new territory. Peter Raimondi, Professor and head of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology lab at UC Santa Cruz, was the first to realize this type of sea star was most afflicted when a pool home to hundreds of these sea stars was missing 95% of its population. That wasn’t the only hot spot. Local to Naraimo, Laurie Corbeil reported going to the beaches at low tide and seeing (referring to the purple sea stars) “only white blotches where they used to be.”
With this in mind, scientists are racing to find the cause of S.W.S. Some say communicable disease is the answer, while others cry viral disease. In the beginning, radiation from Japan’s nuclear disaster was a possibility but considering this has been seen before and no other marine animals are affected, it was shot down. The most plausible explanation may have to do with the ocean’s rising temperature. Already a concern, the temperature has shown its hand in the disintegration of sea stars. Divers recall seeing S.W.S. affecting only sea stars living in the warm waters. Cold water inhabitants have been living peacefully, ignorant to the trauma their cold brethren are facing. At this point, with very little scientific data on this disease, scientists are faced with the only choice of letting nature take its course. A sea star murdering epidemic isn’t the only problem occurring in the ocean. It’s well known that climate changes and pollution are two reasons for major coral loss in the world. What is surprising are the two new threats to coral: toxic algae and seaweed. .In what began as an educational study, researchers in charge of overseeing the coral reefs in the Gulf of Oman got more than they initially anticipated. Out of nowhere, a large bloom of algae engulfed the entire area of the reef. Less than three weeks later, scientists made astonishing discoveries: the coral reef was almost destroyed completely, with 95% of hard coral gone and 70% of fish disappearing from their habitat. Toxic algae destroys coral by blocking all light and oxygen, essentially suffocating and starving the reefs. It can affect other species as well, not just coral. Certain algae can even clog fish gills and reduce water quality. It can affect other species as well, not just coral. Andrew Bauman, a marine ecologist, reports, “We were surprised at the extent and speed at which changes to the coral reef communities were affected.” The sudden loss of coral reef can mean big negative changes towards the oceans ecosystem. Hundreds of fish rely on these structures to provide housing and without coral reefs, a domino effect would end up happening. Lately, the ocean’s temperatures have been rising and some say this could be the main trigger for the past events. Eutrophication is the excess nutrients for algea growth caused by run-offs from human-made factories. As for seaweeds, sewage can be blamed for the toxicity. Sewage “beefs” seaweeds up and helps “spread around so they can release the toxic chemicals that kill our corals”. While most propose that the herbivore fishes could just eat the seaweed, there’s a setback. Apparently, some marine herbivores can be driven away by the toxins some seaweed species give off. “Anti-coral chemicals” can also be given off by seaweed causing the delay of coral growth.
Sea Stars turning into goo, and algae and seaweed becoming dangerous; these events seem like the start of a b-horror film, but are, in reality, the occurrences happening in our very own ocean.
Sources:
Articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/04/science/la-sci-sn-seastar-wasting-disease-photos-20131104
Livescience.com/41042-starfish-wasting-disease.html
Hcn.org/blogs/goat/pisaster-disaster-when-starfish-wasting-disease-strikes-the-pacific-coast-theres-only-one-man-to-call
Livescience.com/41042-starfish-wasting-disease.htmlLivescience.com/41042-starfish-wasting-disease.html
News.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid-9070000/9070148.stm
News.ucsc.edu/2013/11/sea-star-disease.html?utm_source=homepage&utm_campaign=carousel&utm_medium=slide-0
Science.time.com/2011/10/17/bad-news-for-coral-reefs-toxic-seaweed-adds-another-threat