Devastating Transboundary Impacts of Sea Star Wasting Disease on Subtidal Asteroids

Abstract

Sea star wasting disease devastated intertidal sea star populations from Mexico to Alaska between 2013–15, but little detail is known about its impacts to subtidal species. We assessed the impacts of sea star wasting disease in the Salish Sea, a Canadian / United States transboundary marine ecosystem, and world-wide hotspot for temperate asteroid species diversity with a high degree of endemism. We analyzed roving diver survey data for the three most common subtidal sea star species collected by trained volunteer scuba divers between 2006–15 in 5 basins and on the outer coast of Washington, as well as scientific strip transect data for 11 common subtidal asteroid taxa collected by scientific divers in the San Juan Islands during the spring/summer of 2014 and 2015. Our findings highlight differential susceptibility and impact of sea star wasting disease among asteroid species populations and lack of differences between basins or on Washington’s outer coast. Specifically, severe depletion of sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) in the Salish Sea support reports of major declines in this species from California to Alaska, raising concern for the conservation of this ecologically important subtidal predator.

Investigating the Complex Association Between Viral Ecology, Environment, and Northeast Pacific Sea Star Wasting

“…A total of 108 individuals were collected across all stations, where most individuals were the non-SSWD affected Henricia spp. (n = 61), but also several taxa (P. helianthoides, E. troscheli, Mediaster aequalis, and Orthasterias kohleri) that experienced significant population declines by mid-2015 (Kohl et al, 2016;Montecino-Latorre et al, 2016) (Supplemental Table 3). SSWD was not observed in any individual at any site.…”

“…SSWD was not observed in any individual at any site. However, WAaDs were detected in several specimens, with greatest load in P. brevispinus and P. helianthoides, two species heavily affected by SSWD in terms of population density (Montecino-Latorre et al, 2016) (Figure 2). WAaDs were detected at sites heavily affected by SSWD between 2013-2015, including the central Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands (Figure 3).…”

“…seastarwasting.org). SSWD resulted in catastrophic declines in population density of some species, notably P. helianthoides in subtidal waters (Montecino-Latorre et al, 2016;Schultz et al, 2016). In intertidal communities, localized mass mortality events of Leptasterias hexactis and P. ochraceus were reported from 2010 and 2013 in Horseshoe Cove, CA (Gravem and Morgan, 2017).…”

To improve ecological understanding, collect infection data

“…For example, on the North American Pacific coast, millions of sea stars across 20 species experienced mass mortality attributed to sea star wasting disease (Hewson et al 2014). Extensive monitoring of marine invertebrates along the West Coast enabled researchers to detect and evaluate the effects of sea star wasting disease on hosts and their communities (Menge et al 2016, Montecino-Latorre et al 2016, Schultz et al 2016, Burt et al 2018, Miner et al 2018, Moritsch and Raimondi 2018. Extensive monitoring of marine invertebrates along the West Coast enabled researchers to detect and evaluate the effects of sea star wasting disease on hosts and their communities (Menge et al 2016, Montecino-Latorre et al 2016, Schultz et al 2016, Burt et al 2018, Miner et al 2018, Moritsch and Raimondi 2018.…”

Integrating climate change and human impacts into marine spatial planning: A case study of threatened starfish species in Brazil

“…Moreover, ocean warming increases the risk of starfish wasting disease , which is a general description of a set of symptoms that vary slightly among species but generally start with behavioral changes, in cluding lethargy and limb curling, lesions, and end with animal death. This disease has recently devastated starfish species populations along the west coast of North America (Menge et al, 2016;Montecino-Latorre et al, 2016). Global warming-related range shifts of key species are of central importance for the conservation of biodiversity, since changes in the density of starfish species can affect the entire web of interactions, causing serious environmental damage and resulting in biodiversity and economic losses (MMA, 2008).…”