Natural History Wanderings

The New York Times reports

Scientists say that reintroducing the fast-moving predators to the West Coast could help control the spread of sea urchins that are devouring kelp.

The kelp forests off the West Coast are dying, and with their decline, an entire ecosystem of marine plants and animals is at risk. A large starfish with an appetite for sea urchins could come to the rescue.

One reason for the disappearing kelp is the tremendous expansion of the sea urchin population that feeds on it — including an estimated 10,000 percent increase in their numbers over the past few years in a reef surveyed off the coast of Oregon. And it may be that sea urchins have multiplied because one of their chief predators, the sunflower sea star, has been nearly wiped out by disease.

Read more at The Missing 24-Limbed Animals That Could Help Rescue the Ocean’s Forest