News Animals

The mystery of melting sea stars may finally be solved 

A bacterium called Vibrio pectenicida is causing the mass marine die-offs 

An underwater scene showing a decaying sea star on the ocean floor, its arms curled and covered in white lesions, illuminated by a red light. In the background, tall white sea anemones rise from the seabed in murky greenish-blue water.

A sunflower sea star is reduced to goo near British Columbia’s Calvert Island in 2015. Sea star wasting disease has killed billions of animals. Identifying the culprit might help save this particular species.

Grant Callegari/Hakai Institute

By Siddhant Pusdekar

A mysterious disease has been turning sea stars into goo since 2013.