Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars
Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars
Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars
Scientists say they have at last solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars off the Pacific coast of North America in a decade-long epidemic.
The culprit? Bacteria that has also infected shellfish, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Now that scientists know the cause, they have a better shot at intervening to help sea stars.
Prentice said that scientists could potentially now test which of the remaining sea stars are still healthy — and consider whether to relocate them, or breed them in captivity to later transplant them to areas that have lost almost all their sunflower sea stars.
But what caused the bacteria to bloom and thrive?
My guess would be climate change.
You're just saying that because it's probable
Yeah he's just dumb, it's because the oceans have been getting warmer...
That was also my guess, but these creatures live(d) all up and down the Pacific coast, over a much wider range of climates than the 1.5°C change so far.
It’s about optimal conditions. Did the equilibrium move towards the peak of their temperature tolerance, even a bit? That sort of thing can cause a population explosion.