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Some sea stars are what scientist call keystone predators. Keystone predators play a crucial role in their habitat and often show signs of how healthy or unhealthy an ecosystem is. They control population numbers in their habitat and their disappearance could significantly change the ecosystem dramatically. For example, sea stars eat mussels and help keep their population under control. Without the sea star, mussel populations would increase and eventually take over rock spaces and crowd out the homes of most other species. A diverse and a balanced food web is a healthy habitat.
Unfortunately, sea star keystone predators such as ochre stars (Pisaster ochraceus) and sunflower stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides have plummeted in abundance along the Pacific Coast. Other star species have been infected such as, mottled star (Evasterias troschelii), leather star (Dermasterias imbricata), and six-armed stars (Leptasterias) and more (see sea star field guide). Little is known about the cause of this devastating disease on sea star population and research is being done to figure it out. This is the highest population decrease ever recorded in the marine world. The top marine biologist on this disease, Drew Harvell, and other scientist believe that a virus causes the syndrome and that higher ocean temperatures might compromise the sea stars ability to fight the virus.
WHAT ARE TRINIDAD STUDENTS DOING TO HELP?
Long term monitoring data will help provide scientists with baseline data to analyze. Marine Biologist and volunteers are doing sea star swaths along the coasts to help provide data in understanding this disease. Sea star swaths are a type of method used to record the number of sea stars in a two meter band called a transect section.
Eleven Middle School Trinidad Students will be working closely with the top Marine Biologist Sea star researcher, Jana Hennessy. Jana has been studying this vicious disease for the past year. Students will be learning an overview of the scientific method, the importance of keystone species within an ecosystem, sea star wasting disease, collecting scientific data from student's own field research on sea star population counts
Photo Credit: Kit Harma.
SEA STAR MONITORING PROJECT- CITIZEN SCIENCE
This project will teach students how to do a sea star swath at a particular intertidal location. This project will help monitor the health of our CA Coastal National Monument Coastline and provide information on what might be happening on the rocks and islands that are inaccessible. In addition, it will help provide data on our site of biological significance and help scientist examine how climate change, a consequence of global warming, will impact the rocky shore and the organisms that live there. Will this change the dynamics of the rocky intertidal zone? How does sea level change affect the intertidal zone? Will the critters move up in zones when sea level rises? Will we see animals adapt and how? Will there be a loss of certain species? Why some species and not others? Monitoring and observing and asking WHY will help students develop scientific skills of observation, questioning and analyzing.
Please visit the web: Pacific Rocky Intertidal Monitoring: Trends and Synthesis for more information.
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