- Scientists have identified a specific bacterium, Vibrio pectenicida, as the cause of the devastating sea star wasting disease that has killed over five billion sea stars off North America's Pacific coast since 2013.
- The disease, which causes lesions and arm loss, has severely impacted over 20 species, with the sunflower sea star losing approximately 90 percent of its population within five years.
- The breakthrough, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, involved meticulously analyzing the coelomic fluid of sea stars, overcoming previous false leads that focused on dead tissue samples.
- Identifying the bacterium provides a crucial step for intervention, allowing scientists to test remaining sea stars, consider relocation or captive breeding, and investigate natural immunity or probiotic treatments.
- The recovery of sea star populations is vital for the Pacific ecosystem, as their decline led to an explosion in sea urchins, which subsequently decimated 95 percent of Northern California’s kelp forests.
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