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Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars (apnews.com)

submitted 2 days ago by HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works to c/science@lemmy.world

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Scientists say they have at last solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars off the Pacific coast of North America in a decade-long epidemic.

The culprit? Bacteria that has also infected shellfish, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Now that scientists know the cause, they have a better shot at intervening to help sea stars.

Prentice said that scientists could potentially now test which of the remaining sea stars are still healthy — and consider whether to relocate them, or breed them in captivity to later transplant them to areas that have lost almost all their sunflower sea stars.

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[–] the_q@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Humans.

[–] Iamsqueegee@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 days ago

They’re the worst.

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida, of the same family as Vibrio cholerae. Humans only exacerbated this by rising temperatures but it wasn't us directly.

[–] SheeEttin@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

We didn't cause it, but we certainly accelerated it.

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

And I would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you meddling kids!

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

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[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They got hit with the starfish version of the Black Death, except worse. Seems like evolution should sort this quickly. The few survivors should be immune, but I have no idea how long it takes for them to reproduce.

Had no idea how voracious those little fuckers are! If sea urchins are now an issue, maybe we should start scarfing them down? LOL, we do that in Florida with invasive lionfish. Divers are legally "weapons free" on those beasts and compete to see how many they can harpoon and bring back to restaurants.

[–] Cort@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

I remember watching a short documentary about lionfish hunting, and iirc they turned to allow hunting after they weren't able to teach sharks to eat them. They only succeeded in teaching the sharks that if they harass a diver, there might be a tasty lionfish treat.

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago

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[–] TuffNutzes@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Spoiler alert: The answer is capitalism. It almost always is.