What Is Killing 11 Species of Sea Stars from California to Alaska?

“When you hear about 100% mortality (in 11 sea star species), it strikes me as odd because once the pathogens have gone into their host and the host dies, then they have nowhere to go and they die themselves. ”

- Ian Hewson, Ph.D., Asst. Prof. of Microbiology, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY

December 20, 2013 Vancouver, B. C., Canada, and Ithaca, New York - In August this year, divers in Howe Sound northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada, began seeing sick and dead sea stars. Strangely, the arms of the marine creatures appeared to be “melting off,” as divers put it.