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Sea Star Wasting Disease
August 14 , 2025
14 hrs 0 min
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- Scientists have identified the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida as the cause of sea star wasting disease.
- The disease had killed billions of sea stars over more than a decade along North America's Pacific coast.
- The disease affected over 20 species, including the sunflower sea star, whose population declined by 90 percent within five years of the outbreak starting in 2013.
- Infected sea stars develop lesions and their arms fall off, leading to death.
- Sea stars are key predators in kelp forest ecosystems, which provide habitat for fish, sea otters and seals.
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