Sea Star Wasting Disease 101
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Sea star wasting disease causes lesions, limb detachment, and death
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In 2013, it caused mass mortality of over 20 sea star species from Alaska to Mexico
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Sea star wasting disease still persists today
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In 2024, it caused a mortality event of nine-armed sea stars at Florida's MacArthur State Park in the Lake Worth Lagoon
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Sea star wasting disease has now been observed at Florida's Blue Heron Bridge, Phil Foster Park
What causes sea star wasting disease?
Scientists are still working to figure out the causes, but there are several hypotheses:
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Microbial activity: could deplete oxygen availability for sea stars
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Bacterial pathogen: could directly infect sea stars and make them sick
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​Environmental parameters: organic matter loading (think, algal blooms or run-off events) or heatwaves
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Interactions between microbes and environmental parameters