Wasting event affected eleven-armed sea stars in Tauranga

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-09-22 03:00

New Zealand

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

In December 2018, around 50 ephemeral sea stars were found in various states of wasting at Pilot Bay in Tauranga Harbour. Sea Star Wasting Syndrome causes discolouration, lesions and curling arms, and often leads to death. Researchers say that the cause of this event is unknown, but it may have been triggered by an external factor such as a rapid change in water salinity. The eleven-armed sea stars are commonly found throughout coastal New Zealand, but because wasting events are short and localised, they can be easily missed. The authors suggest that greater awareness through community science and social media could help identify similar events in the future.