Researchers used field data from 2012 to 2015 to study mortality and allele frequency changes in the sea star Pisaster ochraceus during a mass mortality event in north central California, and found that the sea star, a keystone species in the region, experienced 81% mortality and allele shifts in surviving adult and juvenile sea stars, suggesting that the allele frequency changes are likely to persist in future sea star generations, findings potentially relevant to conservation efforts, according to the authors.
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Article #18-00285: "Decimation by sea star wasting disease and rapid genetic change in a keystone species, Pisaster ochraceus ," by Lauren M. Schiebelhut, Jonathan B. Puritz, and Michael N. Dawson.
MEDIA CONTACT : Lauren M. Schiebelhut, University of California, Merced, CA; tel: 559-287-8797; e-mail: lschiebelhut@ucmerced.edu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences