Award: OCE-1401844

The NSF award to Dr. Miner funded research on sea star wasting disease. That work focused on monitoring sea star populations in Washington state and studying the cause and spread of the disease. This funding also provided training opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students and public outreach. Through the research funed by this award, we determined that sea star wasting disease had rapid and dramatic effects on sea star populations in WA. Many, but not all, species of sea star were impacted and populations rapidly declined once there was evidence of the disease in the population. Two species of sea stars were especially suspectible, Pisaster ochraceus and Pycnopoida helianthoides. Both species were previously very common in WA, but are now uncommon. During the study, we observed large recruitment evidences of juvenile sea stars but individuals did not survive to larger size classes and we saw little evidience of recovery at most sites after two years. Laboratory studies demonstrated that cooler temperatures slowed but did not prevent the progression of the disease in Pisaster ochraceus (Kohl et al. 2016). For Pycnodia helianthoides, we demosntrated that individuals housed with sick individuals were more likely to develop signs of the disease, suggesting transmission of the disease among individuals. Results of this research were shared through publications, presentations, news media, and public talks. Last Modified: 11/23/2022 Submitted by: Benjamin G Miner