Marine
ecologist at Brown (EEB Dept. chair)
•There
is no mystery here. This happens every few years. Starfish have no
way to osmoregulate and
have no way to bail out freshwater. That's why there are no freshwater
starfish, sea urchins or corals
•What happens
in Narragansett Bay is that pelagic baby starfish settle in the bay. They may
be fine for a few years, but then we'll have a spring with intense concentrated
rain that leaves a large lens of freshwater covering the bay that coincides
with spring (large) tides. The tide goes out, exposing the starfish to
freshwater, which flows into the starfish water vascular system and they pop
like balloons
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