Sea Star Recovery Slow in Bay Area National Parks

October 2018 - Sea stars like Pisaster ochraceus used to be abundant in Bay Area National Parks, but in 2013 park biologists saw a sharp decline in both the size and number of sea stars along park shorelines. This observation coincided with similar reports of mass sea star mortality all along the western coast of North America.

Scientists are still looking for the cause of the mysterious “sea star wasting syndrome” behind this population crash. The disease has persisted along much of the Pacific coast, including in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore. Park scientists working with the Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network (MARINe) to collect long-term data are not seeing a full recovery happening overnight.

This year, biologists did not find Pisasterstars on intertidal surveys at Point Bonita Lighthouse or Alcatraz Island sites.Leptasterias, another genus that had previously been present at Point Bonita, was also absent. It’s a similar story at the Slide Ranch site, with little evidence of recovery in Pisaster numbers.

Still, a glimmer of hope is on the horizon at San Maria Creek in Point Reyes. Biologists detected an uptick in recruitment of young sea stars, after five years without seeing any Pisaster stars at this site.

Other researchers around the state have found evidence that some sea stars may be adapting genetically to the disease as time wears on. Only time will tell whether we will begin to see recovery at Golden Gate, and if Point Reyes will continue its burgeoning upward trend.

You can explore more rocky intertidal data, including a sea star wasting syndrome tracking map, on the MARINe website.

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Where this belongs

• Alcatraz Island
• Golden Gate National Recreation Area
• Point Reyes National Seashore

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