The crustose coralline alga Lithothamnium pseudosorum induces high rates of settlement and metamorphosis of larvae of the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci). In cases where crustose coralline algae (CCA) induce metamorphosis of marine invertebrate larvae it is normally assumed that the inductive molecules are produced by the alga, but an alternative is that they originate from bacteria on the plant surface. Bioassays using shards of L. pseudosorum treated with several antibiotics, whereby some shards were reinfected with bacteria from the alga, showed that if bacteria populations are depleted then settlement and metamorphosis of larvae of A. planci are inhibited. This demonstrates that bacteria are necessary for induction and suggests that morphogenic substances are produced by bacteria on the surface of the alga and not directly by the alga itself. However, surface bacteria are not inductive if they are isolated from soluble algal compounds, suggesting either that they ...

8], The ciliate protozoan Orchitophrya stellarum is sometimes a parasite of the common starfish. Fish. Free shipping . Amazon.de: Küchen- und Haushaltsartikel online - Orange Starfish Blue Sea Large Beach Towel, Microfiber Bath Towel Sand. luidiaciliarisjsewell.jpg. The common starfish, common sea star or sugar starfish (Asterias rubens) is the most common and familiar starfish in the north-east Atlantic. From shop diamontedesigns . Explore. It is capable of surviving in brackish water. Along the rock faces, the low tide exposed bands of small acorn barnacles, and large, stalked goose barnacles, beds of black California mussels, and some very large, purple and orange starfish, called Pisaster ochraceus. Select from premium Starfish of the highest quality. Animals. Article by John Gaster. Please select from the available Invertebrate Species below. Researchers have found a change in the sex ratios of affected populations with fewer males than females being present with the males being ...

Despite the presence of numerous sharp poisonous spines, adult crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) are vulnerable to predation, though the importance and rates of predation are generally unknown. This study explores variation in the incidence and severity of injuries for Acanthaster cf. solaris from Australias Great Barrier Reef. The major cause of such injuries is presumed to be sub-lethal predation such that the incidence of injuries may provide a proxy for overall predation and mortality rates. A total of 3846 Acanthaster cf. solaris were sampled across 19 reefs, of which 1955 (50.83%) were injured. Both the incidence and severity of injuries decreased with increasing body size. For small CoTS (<125 mm total diameter) >60% of individuals had injuries, and a mean 20.7% of arms (±2.9 SE) were affected. By comparison, <30% of large (>450 mm total diameter) CoTS had injuries, and, among those, only 8.3% of arms (±1.7 SE) were injured. The incidence of injuries varied greatly among reefs but

Research from many laboratories over the past several decades indicates that invertebrate oocytes and eggs are extraordinarily difficult to freeze. Since starfish oocytes, eggs, and embryos are an important cell and developmental biology model system, there is great interest to cryopreserve these cells. Previous starfish oocyte cryopreservation studies using slow cooling protocols revealed that these cells are highly sensitive to osmotic stress and form intracellular ice at very high sub-zero temperatures, suggesting that common freezing methodologies may not prove useful. We report here that a short exposure to 1.5 M Me2SO/1 M trehalose in hypotonic salt solution followed by ultra-rapid cooling to cryogenic temperatures allows starfish oocytes to be cryopreserved with the average survival rate of 34% when normalized to control oocytes that were exposed to CPA, but not frozen. On average, 51% of the oocytes in 77% of the batches of frozen oocytes underwent meiotic maturation in response to the ...

Outbreaks of the destructive coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci, present a considerable threat to coral reefs worldwide, and mitigat

TY - JOUR. T1 - Mesenchyme cells can function to induce epithelial cell proliferation in starfish embryos. AU - Hamanaka, Gen. AU - Matsumoto, Midori. AU - Imoto, Masaya. AU - Kaneko, Hiroyuki. PY - 2010/3. Y1 - 2010/3. N2 - Here, we show that mesenchyme cells have a novel morphogenetic function in epithelial cell proliferation in starfish embryos. Blastula embryos were injected with pure populations of mesenchyme cells and the total cell numbers in the treated embryos were subsequently determined at different developmental stages. When a total of 40-50 mesenchyme cells was injected, total cells numbers in mid-gastrula embryos and 3-day-old bipinnaria larvae increased significantly (by 1.3-fold) compared with controls, with no indication of any mitotic activity in the injected mesenchyme cells. However, injection of more than 150 mesenchyme cells failed to induce proliferation of the epithelial cells and, moreover, interfered with normal morphogenesis. These developmental abnormalities occurred ...

No-take marine reserves where fishing is banned can have benefits that extend beyond the exploited fishes they are specifically designed to protect, according to new evidence from Australias Great Barrier Reef reported in the July 22nd issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Researchers have found that outbreaks of large, predatory crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci), which can devastate coral reefs, occur less often in protected zones, although they dont yet know exactly why.. The geographic range of A. planci includes the most biodiverse as well as some of the most threatened reefs on earth, said Hugh Sweatman of the Australian Institute of Marine Science. This study provides an additional argument for establishment of effective marine protected areas across the range, as refuges from exploitation and other threats and as sources for recolonization of damaged reefs to increase ecological resilience.. The crown-of-thorns starfish in question have up to 20 arms ...

TY - JOUR. T1 - Asymmetry in the mitotic spindle induced by the attachment to the cell surface during maturation in the starfish oocyte. AU - Satoh, S. K.. AU - Oka, M. T.. AU - Hamaguchi, Y.. PY - 1994. Y1 - 1994. N2 - In order to study the dynamic behavior of the mitotic apparatus leading to unequal cleavage, we investigated the distribution of mitotic microtubules (MTs) during maturation division of starfish oocytes. When the mitotic apparatus attached to the cell surface at metaphase, in both the first and second meiotic division, it is revealed, by immunofluorescence, that the MT distribution in the spindle, as well as in the aster, became asymmetric. MTs in the peripheral half spindle increased in number compared with those in the inner half spindle. Furthermore, these results were confirmed in the living cell by polarization microscopy; shortly after the attachment, the birefringence retardation of the peripheral half spindle became greater than that of the inner one, and the difference ...

Full paper, video, gifs and still images available. Details below. Dr Frederieke Kroon looking at a crown-of-thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef. Credit: D.Westcott/CSIRO Crown-of-thorns starfish are on the menu for many more fish species than previously suspected, an investigation using fish poo and gut goo reve

The top picture on the left shows a bipinnaria larva of the starfish Pisaster ochraceus. One interesting characteristic of this organism, and the starfish in general, is its ability to regenerate missing body parts both as a larva and as an adult. I read that bisected starfish larvae have been observed to regenerate to form complete larvae within 12-14 days (Vickery and McClintock, 1998). I wanted to see it myself, so on April 13, 2011 I surgically bisected several bipinnarias across the middle, separating the anterior from the posterior portion. The two bottom pictures show the divorced anterior and posterior portions of the bisected larva. I took these pictures within 5 minutes of the surgery. If you look closely you can already see that each fragment is closing the wound! Amazing ...

Methoxychlor, lindane, and dieldrin are organochlorine pesticides that have been described as altering different reproductive functions in mammals and in invertebrates. However, few data have been published concerning the effects these pesticides have on oocyte maturation and fertilization. The aim of this study was to determine whether these compounds could affect maturation of mouse and starfish oocytes. We observed that germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) in starfish oocytes was significantly inhibited by the pesticides. Furthermore, formation of the first meiotic spindle and extrusion of the first polar body were also altered in mouse as well as in starfish. Our results suggest that the three pesticides act on common intracellular targets in invertebrates as well as in vertebrates.. ...

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Once upon a time there was a man. who used to go to the ocean. to do his writing.. He had a habit. of walking on the beach. before he began his work.. One day he was walking. along the shore.. As he looked down the beach. he saw a human figure. moving like a dancer.. He smiled to himself. to think of someone. who would dance to the day.. So he began to walk faster. to catch up.. As he got closer,. he saw that it was an. older man and the man. wasnt dancing.. Instead he was reaching. down to the shore,. picking up something. and very gently. throwing it into the ocean.. As he got closer he called out,. Good morning! What are you doing?. The older man paused,. looked up and replied,. Throwing starfish into the ocean.. The man noticed. there were hundreds of starfish. all washed up on the beach. from a storm the night before.. He watched as the man carefully. continued to pick up the starfish. one by one.. I guess I should have asked,. Why are you throwing starfish. into the ocean?. The ...

Once upon a time there was a man. who used to go to the ocean. to do his writing.. He had a habit. of walking on the beach. before he began his work.. One day he was walking. along the shore.. As he looked down the beach. he saw a human figure. moving like a dancer.. He smiled to himself. to think of someone. who would dance to the day.. So he began to walk faster. to catch up.. As he got closer,. he saw that it was an. older man and the man. wasnt dancing.. Instead he was reaching. down to the shore,. picking up something. and very gently. throwing it into the ocean.. As he got closer he called out,. Good morning! What are you doing?. The older man paused,. looked up and replied,. Throwing starfish into the ocean.. The man noticed. there were hundreds of starfish. all washed up on the beach. from a storm the night before.. He watched as the man carefully. continued to pick up the starfish. one by one.. I guess I should have asked,. Why are you throwing starfish. into the ocean?. The ...

Scientists have taken a major step towards understanding how and why deadly plagues of coral-eating crown-of-thorns seastar (COTS) break out across the Great Barrier Reef, thanks to novel research...

The researchers identified proteins that the starfish emit when aggregating to reproduce, and could be used to create synthetic chemicals to help capture and eradicate the pest.

A recent outbreak of sea star wasting syndrome (SSWS) along the U.S. West coast has decimated populations of many intertidal and subtidal sea star species. If populations are unable to recover quickly, SSWS is likely to cause significant changes to rocky intertidal and subtidal community structure and functioning in the Northeast Pacific ocean. Recovery will likely depend in large part on the success of larval recruitment, but the impacts of SSWS on larvae are unknown. We raised embryos and early stage P. ochraceus larvae in treatments of sea water that varied in filtration exposure to potential pathogens of SSWS. We assessed treatment impacts on larval survival development and larval size. We found a significant effect of water treatment and filtration level on two measures of larval survival. Further studies are needed to better understand the direction and magnitude of these and other effects of SSWS on larval fitness ...

A sea stars anus is in the center of the top side, or the aboral surface of the animal. A circular madreporite is located just off center on the aboral surface, and this madreporite is a critical part of the circulation system of the sea star. Instead of a circulatory system, a sea star has a water vascular system, and the madreporite acts as a trap door through which water can move in and out in a controlled manner. The mouth of a sea star is located in the center of its underneath or oral surface. Open furrows containing tube feet extend from the mouth along the length of each leg.. Sea stars do not have eyes, but they have eyespots that can detect light at the tip of each arm. Interestingly, scientific studies have shown some species of sea stars move toward light while others move away from the light. Neurosensory cells which are sensitive to both touch and chemical tastes cover the surface of a sea star and are particularly dense in the suckers of the tube feet. Many species of sea stars ...

Animals like mussels and barnacles produce strong adhesives that dont dissolve in water. One reason this property has drawn the interest of scientists because of the potential to produce commercial products that mimic these sticky underwater properties.. Yet the starfish, properly called the sea star, requires a different system that allows it to stick-and to unstick-as it moves across a rock or pries open the shell of a mussel. The adhesive piece of this system is characterized for the sea star species Asterias rubens in a paper published recently in PNAS.. The key part is a protein with four subunits and multiple active domains, which the researchers call Sea star footprint protein 1, or Sfp1. Some domains are known to link to metals, others to carbohydrates, and others to proteins.. Sea stars are very different from mussels or barnacles and this protein is very different from others, says study lead author Elise Hennebert of the University of Mons, Belgium. It is a protein that should ...

Minimum depth from Ref. 81548. Cryptic on coral areas and reef patches (Ref. 78188). On a reef slope (Ref. 97449). Feeds on hard corals, soft corals, encrusting organisms, algae, gorgonians and cannibalistic on other Acanthaster planci (Ref. 78188). Life cycle: Eggs hatch into planktonic larvae, grow into algal and coral feeding juveniles, and later into fully grown adults (Ref. 83567). Also Ref. 113703. Spawning period in the Southern Hemisphere is from November to January while in the Northern Hemisphere, May to August. Spawning duration is about 30 minutes. Aggregation and synchronization during spawning is triggered by pheromone but is only effective over short distances (Ref. 78188). ...

TY - JOUR. T1 - NAADP and InsP3 play distinct roles at fertilization in starfish oocytes. AU - Moccia, Francesco. AU - Nusco, Gilda A.. AU - Lim, Dmitry. AU - Kyozuka, Keiichiro. AU - Santella, Luigia. PY - 2006/6/1. Y1 - 2006/6/1. N2 - NAADP participates in the response of starfish oocytes to sperm by triggering the fertilization potential (FP) through the activation of a Ca2+ current which depolarizes the membrane to the threshold of activation of the voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this Ca2+ influx is linked to the onset of the concomitant InsP3-mediated Ca2+ wave by simultaneously employing Ca2+ imaging and single-electrode intracellular recording techniques. In control oocytes, the sperm-induced membrane depolarization always preceded by a few seconds the onset of the Ca2+ wave. Strikingly, the self-desensitization of NAADP receptors either abolished the Ca2+ response or resulted in abnormal oocyte activation, i.e., the membrane depolarization ...

|div|The Chocolate Chip Starfish, |i|Protoreastor nodosus|/i|, also known as the Horned Starfish, features small horn-like projections from its appendages. It has a short and stout body with shor

Stock Photo of Starfish Shrimp on Linckia seastar. High Quality Starfish Shrimp Images and Gloss Prints are available from Oceanwide Images Stock Photo Library.

Summary. Fifteen reefs in the Cooktown - Lizard Island sector were surveyed for crown-of-thorns starfish and coral disease outbreaks using manta tow. Intensive SCUBA surveys for benthic organisms, reef fishes and agents of coral mortality (SCUBA searches) were also completed on sites on eight of these reefs. Preliminary results of the manta tow surveys and SCUBA searches are presented in this report. No active outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) were found but one Incipient Outbreak was recorded at Startle Reef. COTS were recorded in low numbers on seven reefs during manta tow surveys with localized Incipient Outbreak levels of COTS observed on five. COTS were also observed on five reefs during SCUBA searches. COTS feeding scars were recorded on many of the survey reefs and a number of spot checks revealed a few individuals hiding in amongst the reef matrix. Above normal levels of coral mortality were also observed on parts of the Startle Reef (Incipient Outbreak). The directors of the ...

I pursue starfish related adventure around the world with a critical eye and an appreciation for weirdness. Support has been courtesy of the National Science Foundation but the views and opinions presented herein are mine and do not reflect the opinions of them or any affiliated institutions. Need to hire an invertebrate zoologist/marine biologist? Please contact me ...

TY - JOUR. T1 - Involvement of Gαs-proteins in the action of relaxin-like gonad-stimulating substance on starfish ovarian follicle cells. AU - Mita, Masatoshi. AU - Haraguchi, Shogo. AU - Watanabe, Miho. AU - Takeshige, Yuki. AU - Yamamoto, Kazutoshi. AU - Tsutsui, Kazuyoshi. PY - 2014/9/1. Y1 - 2014/9/1. N2 - Gonad-stimulating substance (GSS) in starfish is the only known invertebrate peptide hormone responsible for final gamete maturation, rendering it functionally analogous to gonadotropins in vertebrates. In breeding season (stage V), GSS stimulates oocyte maturation to induce 1-methyladenine (1-MeAde) by ovarian follicle cells. The hormonal action of GSS is mediated through the activation of its receptor, G-proteins and adenylyl cyclase. It has been reported that GSS fails to induce 1-MeAde and cyclic AMP (cAMP) production in follicle cells of ovaries during oogenesis (stage IV). This study examined the regulatory mechanism how ovarian follicle cells acquire the potential to respond to GSS ...

Variation in local environmental conditions can have pronounced effects on the population structure and dynamics of marine organisms. Previous studies on crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci, have primarily focused on effects of water quality and nutrient availability on larval growth and survival, while the role of maternal nutrition on reproduction and larval development has been overlooked. To examine the effects of maternal nutrition on oocyte size and early larval development in A. planci, we pre-conditioned females for 60 days on alternative diets of preferred coral prey (Acropora abrotanoides) versus non-preferred coral prey (Porites rus) and compared resulting gametes and progeny to those produced by females that were starved over the same period. Females fed ad libitum with Acropora increased in weight, produced heavier gonads and produced larger oocytes compared to Porites-fed and starved females. Fed starfish (regardless of whether it was Acropora or Porites) produced bigger ...

... NEW YORK (January 14 2008) Outbreaks of the notorious crown of thor...The starfish a predator that feeds on corals by spreading its stomach...Scientists fear the outbreak is caused by poor water quality and could...Recent surveys of Halmahera by the Wildlife Conservation Society and A...,Starfish,outbreak,threatens,corals,biological,biology news articles,biology news today,latest biology news,current biology news,biology newsletters

Malignant melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer, with a rapidly increasing incidence rate. Despite recent advances in melanoma research following the approval of several novel targeted and immuno-therapies, the majority of oncological patients will ultimately perish from the disease. Thus, new effective drugs are still required. Starfish steroid glycosides possess different biological activities, including antitumor activity. The current study focused on the determination of the in vitro inhibitory activity and the mechanism of action of cyclic steroid glycosides isolated from the starfish Echinaster luzonicus-luzonicoside A (LuzA) and luzonicoside D (LuzD)-in human melanoma RPMI-7951 and SK-Mel-28 cell lines. LuzA inhibited proliferation, the formation of colonies, and the migration of SK-Mel-28 cells significantly more than LuzD. Anti-cancer activity has been ascribed to cell cycle regulation and apoptosis induction. The molecular mechanism of action appears to be related to the

Tests were carried out during a four-day experiment at Loch Sween on Scotlands west coast, to find out how whole marine ecosystems respond to short-term carbon dioxide exposure.. The results showed that calcified organisms such as the coralline algae and starfish were dissolving.. Researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and Glasgow University pumped water enriched with carbon dioxide into chambers placed over the coralline algal ecosystem and monitored the communitys response before, during and after exposure.. Heidi Burdett, Heriot-Watt University research fellow, said: We found that there was a rapid, community-level shift to net dissolution, meaning that within that community, the skeletons of calcifying organisms like starfish and coralline algae were dissolving.. If you think of pulses of carbon dioxide being carried on the tide to a particular site, its like a flash flood of carbon dioxide.. Our continued monitoring of the site directly after the carbon dioxide exposure ...

A week from tomorrow marks the 100th day of my administration. In those next eight days, I ask every American to make an enduring commitment to serving your community and your country in whatever way you can.. Were getting started right away - this afternoon, Ill be joined by President Clinton and Michelle and Joe Biden and Dr. Biden to plant trees in a park not far from here. Its as simple as that. All thats required on your part is a willingness to make a difference. And that is, after all, the beauty of service. Anybody can do it. You dont need to be a community organizer, or a senator, or a Kennedy - (laughter) - or even a President to bring change to peoples lives.. When Ted Kennedy makes this point, he also tells a story as elegantly simple as it is profound. An old man walking along a beach at dawn saw a young man picking up starfish and throwing them out to sea. Why are you doing that? the old man inquired.. The young man explained that the starfish had been stranded on the beach ...

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Starfish are dying by the millions up and down the West Coast, leading scientists to warn of the possibility of localized extinction of some species. As the disease spreads, researchers may be zeroing in on a link between warming waters and the rising starfish body count.

ZOEREA Newborn Infant Baby Bunting Bag Winter Starfish Sleeping Bag 0-12M Description: Outter Material: cotton Filling: high quality silk wadding Lining: velvet lining Type: Starfish shape Super cozy and light weight With zipper design, easy to put on and off Ideal for spring, autumn and winter. Washing instructions: Wash in Less than 30 degrees warm water Do not bleach Hang dry Low temperature ironing Do not dry clean Package included: 1 x Baby Sleeping Bag. ...

Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, shes been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules-like no making waves, avoid eating in public, and dont move so fast that your body jiggles. And shes found her safe space-her swimming pool-where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. Its also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellies weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life--by unapologetically being her own fabulous self ...

Committed to helping mothers achieve success in their breastfeeding goals,whatever they may be. Starfish Lactation meets the needs of families desiring to breastfeed. Mothers are rightfully concerned about their milk supply, their babys growth, disposition and their own ability to painlessly nourish their baby. This evidence-based center developed The Well-Nourished Baby Concept™ for private consultations. The Well-Nourished Baby Concept™ builds on both tried-and-true methods coupled with the latest research to empower moms and their families to nourish and nurture their babies throughout their breastfeeding years.. Although breastfeeding is portrayed as natural and mother-infant feeding seems intuitive, it is a learned behavior that can require guidance, confidence building and fine tuning. Robins practice grew out of a strong desire to understand the science underlying breastfeeding and lactation in an effort to find solutions for her clients difficulties. At Starfish Lactation, moms ...

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To understand how starfish sperm activating peptides (asterosaps) are synthesized in the ovary, we cloned cDNAs encoding asterosaps and elucidated their nucleotide sequences. The mRNA encoding asterosaps was synthesized only in the oocytes, but not in the follicle cells, and the length was 3.7 kb. T …

A new video from Oregon Sea Grant (OSG), Sea Star Health: Using Blood Work to Identify Sick Sea Stars, reveals how OSG and Oregon State University created the first-ever blood panel for ochre sea stars to use as a baseline for detecting sick ones. The tool could help aquarists treat them before they succumb to Sea Star Wasting Syndrome, which causes their limbs to fall off.. The cause of the syndrome, which was first seen in the Pacific Northwest in 2013, is unknown. OSU veterinary student Heather Renee Srch-Thaden created the blood panel under the guidance of Dr. Tim Miller-Morgan, an aquatic veterinarian with OSG Extension, and Dr. Susan Tornquist, dean of OSUs College of Veterinary Medicine.. The video was filmed at OSUs Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, where the public can touch and learn about sea stars in a tidepool exhibit at the HMSC Visitor Center. It was filmed and edited by OSG videographer Vanessa Cholewczynski, with photos by Tim Miller-Morgan and Heather Renee ...

Staff scientist Dana Murray reports on a mysterious disease hitting West Coast tidal zones:. Missing limbs … melting masses of flesh … gooey lesions overtaking the entire body.. No, its not the stuff of a sci-fi horror movie. Rather, its a troubling series of misfortunes befalling sea stars along the Pacific coast of North America. This winter, divers and tidepoolers are encountering numerous sea stars with white lesions that eventually decompose body tissue into a goo-like blob.. These keystone predators are victims of sea star wasting disease, a fast-moving infectious disease that has occurred along our coast for decades, but not at the recent widespread level. Reports of disintegrating sea stars have come from as far north as Anchorage, Alaska, to our shores along Palos Verdes, and down south to La Jolla.. Scientists first described the symptoms in 1978, and several outbreaks have occurred since. Warmer water temperatures led to massive sea star die-offs in Southern California in ...

The reference Saving the Starfish comes from this story: One day, after a big storm, an old man found starfish littered all over the beach. In the distance, a small boy kept bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. What are you doing? The old man called out. The young boy called back Throwing back the starfish. The tide has washed them up. Unless I throw them back, theyll all die. The old man replied, But there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. Im afraid you wont make much of a difference. The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it. Then he turned, smiled and said, I made a difference to that one ...

If you, like me, just made a C in your university Game Theory class, then you might be familiar with a concept called common knowledge. Common knowledge describes a situation in which you are, for instance, in possession of a giant alien starfish that you can deploy as a weapon to decimate my nation at any time, and I know that you have a giant starfish, and you know that I know that you have a giant starfish, and I know that you know that I know that you have a giant starfish, and so on forever and ever. Someone better make a decision fast, either to send out the starfish or send someone to kill it, or both.. Common knowledge is when everyone knows everyones options. Its how arms races start, and wars, and is the reason theres such a thing as classified information. International politics, especially from the American perspective, is a game that depends on knowing other nations options before they know yours.. Its also the reason superhero movies are so obsessed with origin stories. ...

I pursue starfish related adventure around the world with a critical eye and an appreciation for weirdness. Support has been courtesy of the National Science Foundation but the views and opinions presented herein are mine and do not reflect the opinions of them or any affiliated institutions. Need to hire an invertebrate zoologist/marine biologist? Please contact me ...

Shown above, is Acanthaster planci-the infamous Crown-of-Thorns starfish which attacks and devours primarily shallow-water tropical hard coral (i.e., scleractinian). While the above species has grown to plague proportions-it is an important member of the coral-reef ecosystem. As it is likely these deep-sea corallivores are ALSO likely to be... So, how did this whole process begin? As with many things...it started with me identifying a starfish... ...

Shown above, is Acanthaster planci-the infamous Crown-of-Thorns starfish which attacks and devours primarily shallow-water tropical hard coral (i.e., scleractinian). While the above species has grown to plague proportions-it is an important member of the coral-reef ecosystem. As it is likely these deep-sea corallivores are ALSO likely to be... So, how did this whole process begin? As with many things...it started with me identifying a starfish... ...

Though millions of sea stars along the West Coast have perished in the past several years from an apparent wasting disease, scientists still dont know why. The iconic marine creature develops white lesions on its limbs and within days can dissolve or melt into a gooey mass. Last year, researchers identified a type of pathogen known as a densovirus as the likely cause, but they still cant explain the mass die-off three years ago or why a common ocean virus can wreak havoc on so many starfish species from Alaska to Southern California. Now, a group of young marine-disease researchers from around the country has contributed key information about the sea stars immune response when infected with this virus. The students, while taking a summer class at the University of Washingtons (UWs) Friday Harbor Laboratories, looked specifically at how genes expressed themselves in both healthy and sick sea stars. Its the first time researchers have tracked how the genes behave when encountering this ...

National Geographic, Sep 15, 2015: The massacre of sea stars along the West Coast continues, although the pace has slowed because so many already have died… Some areas have seen up to a 90 percent decline in their populations… Scientists [are] investigating why this disease… is now rampaging through 19 species of sea stars… In some of the locations hit early on with this wasting disease, [Pete Raimondi, a marine ecologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz] and colleagues are already starting to see a shift in the animal community. In tidepools, where there used to be a mix of organisms including sea stars, scientists are now seeing mussels dominating… in the Pacific Northwest, sea stars have either gotten smaller in body size, or they are big, with few in the mid-size range, says Drew Harvell, a marine ecologist at Cornell University.. National Geographic transcript, Sep 15, 2015: Ben Miner, marine biologist at Western Washington Univ.: From Mexico all the way to Alaska, ...

The evolution of bivalves that swim is a consequence of the so-called Mesozoic marine revolution.[12][13][14] In the Mesozoic era sea-floor predators evolved various new forms which fed on the abundant shellfish (brachiopods and bivalves). These predators are still abundant today: they are mostly the starfish,[15] the gastropods, and the crabs. Each predator has its own methods. Crabs break the shells by force. Some gastropods make holes in the shell and put in a paralysing or relaxing substance; others work on small cracks in the edge of the shell. Once they get their proboscis in, they eat the shellfish. Starfish are the most common predators. The shells of brachiopods and bivalves are held together by strong muscles. What the starfish does is clamp hold of them on either side with its tube feet, and apply a steady pull. The starfish, with its muscles and hydraulic system, can pull for much longer than any bivalve muscle can withstand. Apparently, ten minutes are usually enough to open the ...

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Australia pledged another Aus$5 million (US$4.6 million) to the fight against a predatory starfish devastating the iconic Great Barrier Reef Thursday, revealing 100,000 of the creatures had been wiped out so far.