Baby starfish vulnerable to wasting disease, UCSC researchers say

Large numbers of baby sea stars are showing up at Terrace Point in Santa Cruz. Researchers are hoping this means the sea star population is making a comeback along the Pacific Coast.

UC Santa Cruz researchers said wasting syndrome showed up in Santa Cruz in 2013. The disease wiped out a large part of the population. Now they think baby sea stars may be more prone to the disease.

“Right now, we have seen another spring pulse of baby sea stars showing up, and we don’t know if they’re going to survive the summer,” Monica Moritsch said, a Ph. D. candidate at UCSC.

Moritsch said unfortunately there’s nothing they can do to help those baby starfish. But they will continue counting them over the summer.