Mysterious sea star wasting syndrome spreads to public aquariums in Washington State, killing hundreds of creatures

Mysterious sea star wasting syndrome spreads to public aquariums in Washington State, killing hundreds of creatures (Natural News, Aug 18, 2014):

Millions of sea stars have vanished from the West Coast over the past year, affecting habitats ranging from Alaska all the way to Mexico, with some deaths even detected off the East Coast.

Perhaps one of the most peculiar facts about the event is that both wild and captive sea stars are succumbing to what researchers refer to as “wasting syndrome,” a condition that causes the sea stars’ limbs to contort unnaturally, form lesions and eventually tear off, leaving the animal fatally deflated.

Read moreMysterious sea star wasting syndrome spreads to public aquariums in Washington State, killing hundreds of creatures

NBC Nightly News: “Another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific” — Millions of starfish ‘melt away’ from Alaska to California — Expert: Fukushima radiation ‘not ruled out’ as factor in epidemic — Very, very different than anything seen before

NBC Nightly News: “Another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific” — Millions of starfish ‘melt away’ from Alaska to California — Expert: Fukushima radiation ‘not ruled out’ as factor in epidemic — Very, very different than anything seen before (VIDEO) (ENENEws, Dec 1, 2013)

West Seattle Blog, Nov. 25, 2013: […] nothing brings it home like seeing what “Diver Laura” James observed in West Seattle waters this weekend. She recorded video off Seacrest on Saturday and uploaded the clip […] “I knew it was bad, but I hadn’t seen it in a couple weeks, and it was crushing to see bodies [of sea stars] piled on top of bodies and the pilings bare.” […] >> Watch the video

Marine biologist Pete Raimondi interviewed on KRCB, Nov. 21, 2013: There’s something about this outbreak that is very, very different […] It’s always been associated with warm water in the past — an El Nino event. We’re not in an El Nino event. […] There’s 2 thingas that are really bewildering. One, we aren’t in an El Nino event. The second thing is the spatial thing, from Alaska down to Orange County. It’s hard to think of a mechanism that is consistent across that whole area of geography. >> Listen to the broadcast

NBC Nightly News, Nov. 29, 2013:

Brian Williams, anchor: Environmental officials in California say there’s been another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific. […] Something is killing the starfish and they don’t know why. They have been dying in record numbers on the West Coast […]

Pete Raimondi, marine biologist: It’s happened so rapidly that some species are just missing. […]

Read moreNBC Nightly News: “Another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific” — Millions of starfish ‘melt away’ from Alaska to California — Expert: Fukushima radiation ‘not ruled out’ as factor in epidemic — Very, very different than anything seen before

Starfish Turn To ‘Slime’ Along Pacific Coast … ‘We’re Talking About A Loss Of Millions And Millions’

See also:

Indigenous Leaders: Fukushima Nuclear Crisis ‘A Threat To The Future Of Humanity’ – ‘We Have Reached The Crossroads Of Life And The End Of Our Existence’


Mystery: Starfish turn to ‘slime’ along Pacific coast — “We’re talking about a loss of millions and millions” — Compared to medieval ‘Black Death’ — Innards become exposed and fall apart — Cases ballooning in Alaska (VIDEO) (ENENews, Nov 7, 2013):

Reuters, Nov. 5, 2013: Mysterious disease turning starfish to ‘slime’ on U.S. West Coast […] ravaging starfish in record numbers along the U.S. West Coast […] “It’s pretty spooky because we don’t have any obvious culprit […]” said Pete Raimondi, chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Lab. […] Starfish have suffered from the syndrome on and off for decades but have usually been reported in small numbers, isolated to southern California and linked to a rise in seawater temperatures, which is not the case this time, Raimondi said. Since June, wasting starfish have been found in dozens of coastal sites ranging from south-east Alaska to Orange County, California, and the mortality rates have been higher than ever seen before, Raimondi said. […]

Guardian, Nov. 5, 2013: “Their tissue just melts away,” said Melissa Miner, a biologist and researcher with the Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network, a group of government agencies, universities and non-profit groups that monitor tidal wildlife and environment along the west coast. Miner, based in Washington state, has studied wasting starfish locally and in Alaska since June, when only a few cases had been reported. “It has ballooned into a much bigger issue since then,” she said.

Read moreStarfish Turn To ‘Slime’ Along Pacific Coast … ‘We’re Talking About A Loss Of Millions And Millions’

STARFISH MELTING ALONG WASHINGTON AND CANADIAN WEST COAST! (King 5 News – Video)


YouTube

October 26, 2013 KING 5 News

“Just a few weeks ago, the populations in Puget Sound waters looked healthy.”

“They estimate close to half appear to be sick or dying.”

” It’s concerning, it’s concerning … and it’s concerning to hear that in a short time period of under a week we’re seeing roughly 60% of this species diseased in this area.

Related info:

Read moreSTARFISH MELTING ALONG WASHINGTON AND CANADIAN WEST COAST! (King 5 News – Video)

‘Alarming’ Mass Die-Off Of Starfish Along Canada’s Pacific Coast – ‘They’ve Disintegrated, Now There’s Just Goo Left’

“Alarming” mass die-off of starfish in areas along Canada’s Pacific coast — “They’ve disintegrated, now there’s just goo left” — “Appeared to melt” — “Single arms clinging to rock faces, tube feet still moving” — Similar reports as far away as California (VIDEO) (ENENews, Oct 7, 2013):

Canadian Press, Oct. 7, 2013: Vancouver Aquarium ‘alarmed’ at mass die-off of starfish on B.C. ocean floor […] aquarium staff don’t know just how far-reaching the “alarming” epidemic has been, and whether this and other sea star species will recover. “They’re gone. It’s amazing,” said Donna Gibbs, a research diver and taxonomist on the aquarium’s Howe Sound Research and Conservation group. “Whatever hit them, it was like wildfire and just wiped them out.” […] Aquarium staff don’t know the cause because they have had trouble gathering specimens for testing, as starfish that looked healthy in the ocean turned up as goo at the lab. […] “We’re just not sure yet if it’s all the same thing,” Gibbs said. “They’re dying so fast.” […] The collaboration came about after a graduate student collected starfish for a research project and then watched as they “appeared to melt” in her tank. […]

Read more‘Alarming’ Mass Die-Off Of Starfish Along Canada’s Pacific Coast – ‘They’ve Disintegrated, Now There’s Just Goo Left’