Near MacDonald Spit, southern end of the Kenai Peninsula.
Observation: While tidepooling near MacDonald Spit we found a starfish holding one arm out of the water. The arm was soft to the touch, bleached in color and swollen. It may have been floating on the water. We were concerned that this was a starfish with wasting disease. Other cases have been reported in the area.
NOAA's Kasitsna Bay Laboratory Consult: Kris Holdried, Oceanographer writes: "We have consistently been running about 2 degrees C (~35° F) high in coastal water temperatures (for us at the Seldovia station) all along the eastern Pacific coast (Mexico to Kachemak Bay) where we have long-term measurements. Transition from cooler than average to warmer than average happened in Oct 2013 for us. Dominic Hondolero from our lab and UAF researchers have found some sea star wasting disease at long-term monitoring sites, but it's not spread widely ... yet."
Media: (2013-11-04) The Seattle Times – Widespread starfish illness has been reported on the West Coast, "Marine scientists are finding a large number of dead starfish along the West Coast stricken with a disease that causes the creatures to lose their arms and disintegrate." by Seattle Times staff
Note: Melissa Miner has also presented to the LEO Network back in December of 2013. To view presentation or download a PDF version of, Sea Star Wasting Syndrome: detecting, tracking, and following the progression go to the LEO Network -WEBINAR- website archive and scroll down.
Observations From Members