Iconic West Coast sunflower sea star faces threatened species designation

by KATU Staff

Fri, March 17th 2023, 2:45 PM UTC

Adult sunflower sea stars feeding on mussels at UW Friday Harbor Laboratories. The stars suck out and ingest the soft tissues of mussels, then discard the shells, which collect at the bottom of the tank. The sea star on the bottom, “Charlotte,” is the mother of the lab’s 14 one-year-old juvenile stars. The sunflower sea star captive breeding program is a partnership between University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy. (Photo: Dennis Wise/University of Washington)

Underside of an adult sunflower sea star at UW Friday Harbor Laboratories. The stars will eventually grow up to 24 arms and are usually the size of a serving platter as fully grown adults. The sunflower sea star captive breeding program is a partnership between University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy. (Photo: Dennis Wise/University of Washington)

Juvenile sunflower sea stars on the bottom and along the side of a container in the lab. These roughly one-year-old sea stars were the first group to be born in captivity at UW Friday Harbor Laboratories. As these juveniles grow, they will acquire more arms and different colors. The sunflower sea star captive breeding program is a partnership between University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy. (Photo: Kiyomi Taguchi/University of Washington)

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Adult sunflower sea stars feeding on mussels at UW Friday Harbor Laboratories. The stars suck out and ingest the soft tissues of mussels, then discard the shells, which collect at the bottom of the tank. The sea star on the bottom, “Charlotte,” is the mother of the lab’s 14 one-year-old juvenile stars. The sunflower sea star captive breeding program is a partnership between University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy. (Photo: Dennis Wise/University of Washington)

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