Stay Eat Events Weather Beaches

One Sea Star Especially Linked to Die Off's of Kelp Forests: Oregon Coast Scientists

Published 03/01/023 at 4:52 AM
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

One Sea Star Especially Linked to Die Off's of Kelp Forests: Oregon Coast Scientists

Latest Coastal Lodging News Alerts
In Seaside:
Includes exclusive listings; some specials in summer
In Cannon Beach:
Includes rentals not listed anywhere else
In Manzanita, Wheeler, Rockaway Beach:
Some specials for summer
In Pacific City, Oceanside:
Some specials for summer
In Lincoln City:
Some specials for summer
In Depoe Bay, Gleneden Beach:
Some specials for summer
In Newport:
Look for some specials
In Waldport
Some specials for summer
In Yachats, Florence
Some specials for summer
Southern Oregon Coast Hotels / Lodgings
Reedsport to Brookings, places to stay; summer deals

(Newport, Oregon) – Just offshore from U.S. areas like the Oregon coast or Washington coast, there's a bit of an apocalypse brewing. That oft-smelly, kind of annoying debris on beaches known as kelp is actuality integral to the ecosystems along many coastal areas of the world, and it's being threatened. Kelp forests are shrinking around the globe, already stressed by marine heatwave events, and diminished further by a growing proliferation of urchins that eat them. (Photo above: kelp forest tops are the dark spot in this shot of Depoe Bay / copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

A group of scientists from Oregon State University – including from the Oregon coast's Hatfield Marine Science Center – have discovered a direct link between the health of kelp forests off the world's coastlines and the gutting of sea star populations after a run of sea star wasting syndrome in the 2010s. The result is a struggling plant that is important to not only various species in these waters (and thus the fishing industry), but also to a vast economic sector that utilizes kelp in various products.

Sea star wasting syndrome took a toll on all sea stars along the western U.S., but one species was especially hit hard: the sunflower sea star. What began in 2013 has made for more than a 90% decline of that population around the planet, according to the OSU study. Since the sunflower sea star was one of the prime predators of sea urchins, their decimation has allowed the sea urchin to attack kelp forests and lay waste to some of them.

The study was a collaboration that also boasted scientists from the University of Oregon and The Nature Conservancy. Among them was Sarah Gravem, a research associate in the Oregon State College of Science.


Kelp on the beach, photo Seaside Aquarium

Gravem said the study's key finding was the link between the sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) and the health of kelp forests. Without the sea star, urchin populations go unchecked and create more issues for what scientists hope will be a kelp forest recovery.

That may have to wait. The study did come up with some directions for a recovery plan for sea stars, however – a step in the right direction. This included breeding programs.

Kelp is important to various fish by giving them a place to feed and hide from predators. The harvesting and use of kelp is an economic juggernaut estimated to be worth billions of dollars, used in products such as toothpaste, shampoos and even puddings and cakes.

The group estimated that as many as 5.75 billion of these animals died from the disease that still plagues the Oregon coast and Washington coast. In other parts of the world, such as Mexico, no sunflower sea stars have been spotted since 2016,.

”Only a handful have been found in Oregon and California since 2018,” Gravem said in a press release.


Photo Seaside Aquarium: back when the aquarium had sunflower sea stars, sunset would illuminate them in brilliant ways

“This study addresses that gap, and the findings are significant and somewhat surprising,” said principal investigator Aaron Galloway of the University of Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. “We found that these stars are eager consumers of purple urchins and, most importantly, they even eat the nutritionally poor, starving ‘zombie’ urchins.”

One of the issues with urchins is how resilient they are. They can live for years in a starved, emaciated state after they've devoured kelp forests. This makes it harder for kelp to come back, creating what are known as “barrens” - areas where kelp is gone and stays gone.

While one sunflower sea star only consume on average .68 urchins per day, when you multiply that by the billions that used to exist that is a healthy amount of ecosystem balance.

Oregon Coast Hotels in this area - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours


MORE PHOTOS BELOW





More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....


Coastal Spotlight


Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Oregon / Washington Coast Alerts: Flood Watch, First Big Waves of Season
Floods, lots of rain, high winds and some rather good storm watching, beach safety
Sea Lions Sick with Leptospirosis on Oregon Coast: Keep Pets, Yourselves Away
Stay clear of sick or dead sea lions. Marine sciences, beach safety
Yachats Oktoberfest Takes German Culture on Oregon Coast to New Levels with L...
A kind of accordian-palooza, there's beer, brats, wine and waves, Sept 29 - Oct 1. Yachats events
At Seal Rock's NW Curtis St.: Funky Little Oregon Coast Access with No Name
NW Curtis St., not far from Newport, Yachats or Waldport
Seaside Event Digs Into Mysterious Bayocean, the Oregon Coast Ghost Town
September 28 at 6 p.m. at Seaside Brewing. History, Seasode events, Tillamook
Central Oregon Coast Artist Shows at Florence Visitor Center
Regina 'Reggie' Oflock of Sea Gypsy Cottage Gallery. Florence events
Small Vessel Strands on Central Oregon Coast's South Beach, Cause Unknown
Fishing vessel Judy stuck on a Newport beach. Florence events, Newport events, Lincoln City events, Yachats
SOLVE Cleanup Finds on Oregon Coast Include a Whale
This carcass had been in the news before, victim of orcas. At Otter Rock near Newport. Marine sciences

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted