Mystery of why sea stars keep turning into goo finally solved — and it’s not what scientists thought
The researchers discovered the cause of a mysterious maritime epidemic which transformed billions of starfish into goo along the west coast – and that’s not what they expected.
Star of the starfit disease has been Starfish Since 2013, causing catastrophic damage to ecosystems and leading the largest species of sea stars to the edge of extinction. Researchers thought that a virus could be responsible for the disease, but after a four -year investigation, they discovered that a bacteria strain is to blame.
Pathogenic bacteria are Vibrio Pectenicidawhich is part of the same genre that causes cholera (V. cholerae) and produces strains that have devastated coral and crustacean populations, the researchers said statement.
Researchers, who published their results on Monday August 4 in the journal Ecology and evolution of natureused DNA sequencing to identify microbes in infected seas of the sea who were not in healthy individuals. Finally, the team focused on the high levels of V. Pectenicida In the infected sea, “blood”, known as coelomic fluid.
“When we looked at the coelomical fluid between the seas of sea exposed and healthy, there was essentially a different thing: Vibrio“Author of the senior study Alyssa GehmanAn ecologist of Marine disease at the Hakai Institute and the University of British Columbia (UBC), said in the press release. “We all had chills. We thought, that’s all. We have it. This is what causes waste.”
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Sea waste disease has infected more than 20 different species, but it is particularly devastating for Sunflower Stars (PYLIANTHOIDES PYCNOPODIA). These giant seas of sea, which can reach 39 inches (1 meter) in diameter, are now functionally extinguished in a large part of their southern distribution area in the continental United States, while further north, they have undergone population losses of more than 87%. This decrease had disastrous consequences for the ecosystems they inhabit, according to the study.
The stars of the Sunflower Sea are predators who naturally keep the sea urchins under control, which prevents sea urchins from eating too much Varech. But with the starfish undergoing strong losses, scientists have seen orchine populations exploding, leading to a Decline major Varech forests. This is a big problem because the Varech forests offer a habitat to thousands of species, support local economies by fishing and tourism, are important for coastal First Nations and tribal communities, protect the coasts from storms and store carbon dioxide, according to the press release.
“When we lose billions of sea stars, it really moves ecological dynamics,” said the first author of the study, Melanie Prentice, an evolutionary ecologist at the Hakai Institute and the UBC, in the press release. “Losing a sea star goes far beyond the loss of this species.”
Study waste disease
Scientists have struggled to find the cause of the waste of a disease. The disease begins as lesions on the body of the sea star, then essentially melts tissues in about two weeks, finally reducing the bodies of seas of sea to Goo. However, seas of sea can have symptoms similar to other stressors of stress and environmental diseases, which makes it difficult to determine what is behind a specific disease. The study authors have studied many pathogens who, according to them, could have been responsible for loss of illness, before identifying the strain of V. Pectenicidaknown as FHCF-3.
Once the researchers have identified the tension, they have created cultures of V. Pectenicida Infected starfish and gave them to healthy starfish. The result was the death of almost all infected starfish, indicating that the FHCF-3 was to blame for the wasted disease, according to the study. Researchers still have a lot to learn about the disease, but they can now go to the study of its drivers and how to fight it as best as possible.
“Understanding what has led to the loss of the sun’s sea star is a key step to recover this species and all the advantages that the Varech forest ecosystems offer”, ” Jono WilsonThe Ocean Director of Sciences at the California section of Conservancy nature, which was involved in the study, said in the press release.
