A virus which can be found in plankton, sandy ocean bottoms and sea urchins, is believed to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Sea Stars along the West Coast over the past year. According to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a variety of “densovirus” is the likely cause of the wasting syndrome. Cornell University marine microbiologist Ian Hewson says they are not sure what triggered the outbreak, but speculate that it could be related to a population boom in one of the species heavily infected by the disease, a change in the virus, or changes in the environment. The outbreak began in Southern California during the summer of 2013. It has spread to Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Southern Alaska. The virus causes the Sea Stars to lose their limbs and eventually disintegrate into slime and piles of tiny bones. Hewson does not believe the disease will make any Sea Stars go extinct.
