<
https://theconversation.com/the-bacteria-killing-sea-stars-in-the-pacific-how-our-team-uncovered-a-decade-long-mystery-259875>
"In 2013, a mysterious epidemic swept across the Pacific Coast of North
America, rapidly turning billions of sea stars from Mexico to Alaska into goo.
Its name, sea star wasting disease (SSWD), describes what you might have seen
if you wandered the shores of the Pacific Northwest at that time: contorted sea
star bodies and fragmented arms littered the sea floor, as the tissues of sea
stars melted away within a matter of days.
In the more than 10 years that has followed, SSWD has been described as the
largest epidemic ever recorded in a wild marine species, and one of the 10
greatest unsolved ocean mysteries. Attempts to identify the pathogen
responsible have turned up more questions than answers, until now.
We have recently published the findings of our five-year research project into
the cause of SSWD.
Our team included multi-national and multi-disciplinary researchers from
academic, government and non-profit institutions, a collaboration that was
critical for the success of this work.
Together, we conducted laboratory experiments and analyzed data from wild
outbreaks of SSWD to identify the pathogen responsible: a novel strain of the
bacterium
Vibrio pectenicida."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
