But once sea urchin populations boomed, there was a widespread loss of kelp forests. To identify the disease, researchers ran more than 20 experiments from 2021 to 2024.

Without the sea stars to keep the sea urchin population in check, the spiny creatures are eating too much of the kelp forests, which further impacts other marine species.

A new study identifies the cause of sea star wasting disease, offering hope the animals can come back and perhaps even help West Coast kelp forests recover.

A team featuring Canadian scientists has, after years of testing, determined the cause of the devastating sea star wasting disease. The culprit is a bacterial pathogen called vibrio pectenicida ...

They keep sea urchin populations in check, in turn ensuring the health of help forests that provide habitat and food for numerous other species.

A bacterium called Vibrio pectenicida may be melting sea stars along North America’s Pacific coast.

In Nature Ecology & Evolution, a group of researchers reveal the cause of sea star wasting disease (SSWD). This discovery comes more than a decade after the start of the marine epidemic that has ...

Natural kelp forest guardians Previous research has found that i ncreased sea otter populations have helped curb urchin populations around kelp forests.

Sea urchins have no brains or hearts. But put them in the proximity of the unmistakable sunflower sea star, and somewhere in their pin cushion-like body, they sense trouble. That's the main ...

Discover the benefits of harvesting sea urchin on the west coast. Join us for the next sea urchin removal event in September.