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Scientific Discovery Identifies Bacteria As The Cause Of The Disease That Devastated Sea Star Populations And Affected Whole Marine Ecosystems
An unknown disease killed more than 5 billion sea stars along the Pacific coast in North America. The outbreak began in 2013 and caused severe injuries and loss of arms in these animals. In total, more than 20 species were affected, with the sunflower sea star experiencing the largest population decline.
Scientists Identify The Offenders
The most important finding is that, after a decade of research, scientists discovered the causative agent of the so-called sea star wasting disease.
Contrary to initial suspicions that pointed to a virus, the true culprit is a bacterium called Vibrio pectenicida.
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The discovery was only possible after detailed analyses of the live bodily fluids of sea stars, especially the coelomic fluid.
Effects Of Absence In The Ecosystem
The drastic decline in the populations of these sea stars brought imbalance to the marine environment. The lack of these natural predators allowed the number of sea urchins to explode.
As a consequence, large areas of kelp forests were destroyed, as sea urchins feed intensively on them. Therefore, the impact went beyond sea stars and affected the entire local biodiversity.
Now that the cause has been identified, scientists are developing strategies for species conservation. Among the measures are captive breeding programs and tests to detect possible natural immunities in the remaining populations.
Additionally, there are plans to reintroduce sea stars in strategic locations, attempting to restore ecological balance.
Essential Role
Besides their biological value, sea stars have an essential ecological function. They control species such as sea urchins and help maintain marine diversity.
With their possible return, it is expected that the kelp forests will also recover.
This discovery marks a significant advancement in the fight for ocean preservation and opens new possibilities for restoring damaged ecosystems.
With information from Correio Braziliense.
