Did You Know?

In 2015 a “blob” of warm water, combined with a strong El Niño created extra warm water in the Monterey Bay and slowed the growth of giant kelp. This warming caused sea urchins, who typically thrived in their niches, to proactively search for kelp instead of waiting for it to drift by. This all created what is known as sea urchin barrens.

Sea Star Wasting Disease (SSWD) has decimated sea star populations around the world. Since the epidemic of dead, dissolving sea stars was discovered around 2013, scientists have been trying to figure out the cause of the disease.