Seastar Wasting Syndrome

Location: Pacific Coast, Bering Sea

Description: This project tracks observations or starfish for wasting disease.

Background: Starfish wasting has been widely report on the West Coast of North America and there are observation that have been submitted in LEO Network including Southeast and Southcentral Alaska.

Funding: Open Invitation

Partners: Pending

Observing Guidance: Observers are asked to collect observations of environmental conditions, appearance of starfish, indications of the extent and type of impact. Detailed photos of individual starfish are encouraged. For guidance on collecting observation please see the seastarwasting.org guidance. LEO Network will connect observers with relevant observations to the sea star observation network.

Source Data: LEO Network

Outputs: Inclusion in LEO Network Map and Timeline. Feedback from consultants as available.

Project Updates:

Resources:

A great resource for Citizen Science and in general about Starfish Wasting is the Pacific Rocky Intertidal Monitoring: Trends and Synthesis at UC Santa Cruz. Please see the Seastar Wasting Syndrome

Note: Melissa Miner has presented to the LEO Network back in December of 2013. To view presentation or download a PDF version of, Sea Star Wasting Syndrome: detecting, tracking, and following the progression go to the LEO Network -WEBINAR- website archive and scroll down.

Media: (2013-11-04) The Seattle Times – Widespread starfish illness has been reported on the West Coast, "Marine scientists are finding a large number of dead starfish along the West Coast stricken with a disease that causes the creatures to lose their arms and disintegrate." by Seattle Times