Cryopreserved sea star larvae could enable vital species to recover
Giant pink star stars larvae resumed their development after being frozen at -200 ° C
Patrick Webster
For the first time, scientists have managed to cryitage the star larvae and reactivated them – an important step that could help restore a kind of key to critical danger.
From 2013, the Sea Star waste syndrome has spread along the west coast of North America, annihilating species populations, including sunflower stars (PYLIANTHOIDES PYCNOPODIA) and giant pink stars (Pisaster Brevispinus). The loss of these predators led to a strong expansion of sea urchins, which contributed to the loss of 97% of its forest canopy in Varech.
Sunflower stars are now extinguished in California and intense efforts are underway to raise these creatures for reintroduction to nature.
When giant pink stars gave birth to the Pacific aquarium in Long Beach, California, in January 2025, two -day larvae bottles were sent to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. There, they were overwhelmed in liquid nitrogen and stored at -200 ° C for next month before being transported about 700 kilometers north to Sunflower Star Laboratory in Monterey Bay in February.
Then, the giant pink star larvae were carefully thawed and they resumed their development, reaching the stadium when they settled on the seabed and turned into their juvenile form. “No one had ever taken a sea star, frozen it at the larval stadium and installed it successfully, which has huge implications for their conservation,” said Reuven Bank at the Sunflower Star Laboratory.
Sunflower stars play an important role in Varech forest ecosystems
Pat Webster
Being able to raise Cryocrevée larvae brings scientists closer to the conservation of the stars of genetically diverse sunflowers in California waters. “The Giant Pink Star has a larval cycle similar to sunflower stars, and we go to sunflower stars then,” explains Bank.
Over the past 15 years, marine ecosystems of the North Pacific have been faced with a convergence of environmental threats. “When you tell the story of climate change, waves of marine heat and the collapse of the ecosystem, it’s dark,” said Andrew Kim at the Sunflower Star Laboratory. “But with the Pycnopod Recovery, there is a ribbon of hope. »»
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