News

Billions of starfish deaths traced back to bacterial culprit in largest marine epidemic
Sea star wasting disease has devastated starfish populations in North America, driving some species to the brink of ...
5 Billion Sea Stars Have Shattered and Died Over the Past 10 Years, Scientists May Finally Know Why
An estimated 5 billion sea stars have died due to a sea star-wasting disease in oceans around the world. A team of ...
Smithsonian Magazine on MSN2d
Researchers Discover the Culprit Behind a Gruesome Disease That Makes Sea Stars Lose Their Limbs and Melt
A new study points a finger at a strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida, which belongs to the same genus as Vibrio ...
Mystery solved: Scientists pinpoint bacteria behind sea star die-off on West Coast
Researchers at the Hakai Institute have identified the culprit as a bacterium called Vibrio pectenicida, known as "V-peck" ...
Death of 5 Billion Starfish Baffled Scientists—Until Now
The mass die-off, which began in 2013, saw sea star populations plunge and reshaped vital marine ecosystems in the U.S. and ...
Discovery of sea star wasting disease cause sheds light on kelp forest collapse and recovery
In Nature Ecology & Evolution, a group of researchers reveal the cause of sea star wasting disease (SSWD). This discovery ...
5 Billion Starfish Dead and Melting: Bizarre Ocean Plague Traced to Killer Vibrio Bacteria
For more than ten years, the Pacific Ocean has played host to a chilling marine mystery. Arms twist violently, limbs tear ...