"Researchers in Washington and British Columbia say they have solved a deadly mystery that has stumped scientists for more than a decade.
They have identified the pathogen behind one of the world’s biggest disease outbreaks: a wasting disease that has turned billions of sea stars into goo — from Alaska to California.
A mass dieoff of ocean-shaking proportions began among sea stars along North America’s West Coast in 2013. Of 20 species affected, the pizza-sized sunflower star was hardest hit. More than 5 billion sunflower stars, or 90% of their global population, wasted away.
With key predators of sea urchins largely wiped out, the spiny little grazers proliferated and chewed their way through kelp forests, leading to widespread losses of that productive ocean habitat."
John Ryan reports for KUOW August 4, 2025.
SEE ALSO:
"Scientists Say They Have Solved The Mystery Of What Killed More Than 5 Billion Sea Stars" (AP)
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