tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66768311899007213962024-02-18T18:37:21.031-08:00Asterias forbesi centralElena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-30929495151895815902013-10-11T06:28:00.003-07:002013-10-11T06:28:56.906-07:00Starfish wasting disease is becoming a national issue!Check this out- it seems that our starfish illness is not isolated to the east coast! These white lesions and other symptoms these sea stars are displaying looks and sounds very similar to those we have seen in New England:<br />
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<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/dead-starfish-in-vancouver-waters-puzzle-scientists-1.1706627">http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/dead-starfish-in-vancouver-waters-puzzle-scientists-1.1706627</a>Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-33690981915407987592013-01-09T17:31:00.001-08:002013-01-09T17:31:03.410-08:00UpdateAt the Wessel lab, we have put our research into the A. forbesi problem on hold for a while because we are waiting for a response from the grant we applied for with several other collaborators from various RI institutions. Hopefully we will receive the grant and be able to move forward with our project and experiments with funding.<div>
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Here's an update on news from others I have been hearing.</div>
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Most people are saying the A. forbesi issue is still continuing. Some are collecting specimens and bringing them back to their respective tanks only to watch them fall apart and/or die in front of their eyes. Others are having issues finding any forbesi to collect. I visited the New England aquarium in Boston, which collects its specimens from the Gulf of Maine area, and noted that each tank that was labelled as holding forbesi (three in total) had a distinct absence of any forbesi, which leads me to make the educated guess that the forbesi are not doing so hot in that area, either in the ocean or once placed in the tanks.</div>
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One person has had better luck. Mark Hall of Biomes Center in North Kingstown, RI has reported the following information.</div>
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<li>In January last year, Mark's forbesi were all dying in his tanks. He had a pathologist look at them and run some tests, but found nothing.</li>
<li>Most of Mark's forbesi did die last year, but a few survived. These surviving forbesi have been one of the healthiest populations he has ever seen. He believes that these forbesi that survived may have had an immunity to whatever was ailing them, which is why they are now so healthy.</li>
<li>Recently (this fall/winter) Mark has had better success with both collecting and caring for his A. forbesi. They are abundant in the areas he collects them from around Rhode Island and he now has a flourishing population of at least 20 specimens, all in good condition and showing no signs of "wasting disease."</li>
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See http://www.biomescenter.com/ for more about Mark's Biomes Center.</div>
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Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-32618915538925786162012-07-05T14:44:00.000-07:002012-07-05T14:44:27.553-07:00P. MiniataP. miniata:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Unfortunately,
soon after the health of the p. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">miniata</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> deteriorated as well. It remains to be seen whether the </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">forbesi</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> did
in fact “infect” the </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">miniata</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> with
their “disease,” but we will keep them separate from now on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next: collect more and leave at GSO and in a
separate tank from the </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">miniata</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> at
Brown</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-28099054950645704772012-07-05T14:33:00.004-07:002012-07-05T14:33:41.917-07:00My A. forbesi: Observations on 6/19<!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
last starfish, which had previously been missing, reappeared in the tank with a
detached arm and the beginnings of symptoms similar to the other A. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">forbesi</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Several
of the P. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Miniata</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
starfish-both female and male-had begun displaying symptoms similar to the sick
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">forbesi</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-removed
sick ones form tank</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">White
covering developing on arms</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Insides
coming out of arms and from stomach</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emailed
Ed Baker with picture of </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">forbesi</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> arms
with innards coming out and asked to compare to his memory of the </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">forbesi</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> that
died in the GSO water table last year</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-79195993363204053042012-07-05T14:33:00.000-07:002012-07-05T14:33:01.578-07:00My A. forbesi: observations on 6/14<!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Checked
starfish; found the one that had been missing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One,
over the past few days, slowly shed its arms and died, but had no symptoms of
the "disease“</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
one that had been missing now has some spines missing, and every spine is
surrounded with the white dots, which are now even scattered throughout the
flesh in between the spines</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Plans
for A. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">forbesi</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">: take the white spots and look at them under a
microscope; control = spines/flesh without the spots</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Unfortunately
on 6/16 the starfish disappeared again and was later found dead in the filter </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">L</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> so I now need to collect some more to do
this experiment</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-19090845532010728392012-07-05T14:32:00.000-07:002012-07-05T14:32:14.453-07:00My A. forbesi: the malady<!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of
the two brown starfish observed on 6/6, one had an interesting phenomenon: on the "spikes," some were
developing a strange gel-like covering and were easier to scrape off, exposing
the inside of the starfish</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
spikes that were beginning to develop the </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">gelly</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-like substance had a series of tiny
bright white spots around the radial edges of the spike situated on the brown
flesh in between the spikes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These
gel-covered spikes were observed in clusters along the arms, more often at the
most distal parts and the most proximal parts than the middle length of the
arms</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
other brown starfish had a few of these “spotted” spikes, but were more
randomly spaced with only a few clusters at the tips of a couple of the arms</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-32319044142677384012012-07-05T14:27:00.007-07:002012-07-05T14:27:49.480-07:00My A. forbesi: Observations on 6/6<!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When
I took the sick starfish from the tank today, it was ostracized in the opposite
corner of the tank form the other three, which were close to each other on the
other side and bottom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When
all the detached arms are placed together, they attempt to move away from one
another</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Two
of the remaining starfish are browner than the other (which is more purple and
orange</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">purpley</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
starfish looked completely normal.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-69441912936874425352012-07-05T14:27:00.001-07:002012-07-05T14:27:18.667-07:00My A. forbesi: how they fared<!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1
developed symptoms and died</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From
onset of symptoms to death: 8-10 hours</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1
developed symptoms and disappeared to be found later in filter of tank</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1
disappeared and was later found with symptoms</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1
died without developing symptoms but did lose its arms, possibly as a defense
mechanism</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-65966402070906983232012-07-05T14:26:00.004-07:002012-07-05T14:26:37.601-07:00My A. forbesi<!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Collected
8 total- 4 in GSO water table; 4 in tank in lab</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Small
to medium size-all found on docks at Allen Harbor in Quonset</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not
found at any beaches or in any tidal pools-not rocky enough or deep enough,
perhaps</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Beavertail</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wickford</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
Harbor</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">NKTB</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fort
Wetherill</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Collected
on 5/29/12</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6/6:
one began growing lesions</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By
the end of the day, all its arms had fallen off except 2 attached to the
central disk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">–</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Died
by morning</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6/6:
checked starfish at GSO: all were fine</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-71254263408331325322012-07-05T13:49:00.001-07:002012-07-05T13:49:04.269-07:00William Grossman's Thoughts<span style="font-family: times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I am one of the collectors at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. Yes, we absolutely have noticed the die off since last fall. The first I noticed anything was when I collected about 100 animals from the Cape Cod Canal and they all died in a matter of days in our flow through system. We even went out and dredged in many of our more productive areas within Vineyard and Nantucket sounds. There were areas thick with crepidula and other foods, still with no signs of stars. We have noticed small stars begining to show up in the Cape Cod Canal and out in the sound about 2 months ago. Today I collected about a dozen 3" to 4" animals out in Vineyard Sound. This has created quite some talk here, especially with some of the summer courses, such as Embryology, Frontiers in Reproductions and Physiology. Our aquatic vet Amy Hancock I believe has taken cultures. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Another person who has had some experience with stars is a gentleman named Martk who runs Biomes out of RI. He has a closed system and found new stars died within a day after being put into any tanks which had previously held asterias forbesi.</span><br style="font-family: times, serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: times, serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I have seen Asterias vulgaris in Cape Cod Bay. Perhaps the cooler water did not have the same effects. </span>Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-63875554335447589662012-07-05T12:44:00.003-07:002012-07-05T12:44:52.387-07:00Chris Littlefield's Thoughts<!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Head
of the Block Island chapter of the RI Nature Conservancy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">was
not aware of that but it’s good news for shellfish. I wonder if it is related
to flashy rainfall events? I know that when they migrate into the shallows in
the summer here that a lot get washed up on the beach but I had not heard of an
actual die </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">off</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;">I </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;">know
there are a lot in certain places here and in the coastal ponds. We get really
large ones in Great Salt Pond and I have seen them aggregate in certain spots,
presumably for </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;">spawning?”</span></div>Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-74212875439244331022012-07-05T12:32:00.002-07:002012-07-05T12:45:38.782-07:00Jon Witman's Thoughts<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Brown Professor</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">have
heard a little about this in </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">S. New </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">England, but nothing from the </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">gulf </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">of
Maine where all my sea star baseline data is from. It could be low salinity or </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">disease</span></div>Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-77705475270487724962012-07-05T12:30:00.004-07:002012-07-05T12:45:55.064-07:00Kevin Cute's Thoughts<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">(</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Aquatic Invasive Species or AIS monitoring)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; text-indent: -0.38in;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; text-indent: -0.38in;">We </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; text-indent: -0.38in;">focus
our sampling activities on floating docks where you might expect to find </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-style: italic; text-indent: -0.38in;">Asterias</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-style: italic; text-indent: -0.38in;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-style: italic; text-indent: -0.38in;">forbesi</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-style: italic; text-indent: -0.38in;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; text-indent: -0.38in;">but I
don’t recall having noticed them in </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; text-indent: -0.38in;">abundance</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">are
however expanding our monitoring this year to include eelgrass beds and
bulkheads at the Port of Providence and Quonset/</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Davisville</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, so we’ll have increased opportunities
to keep an eye open on your </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">behalf</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ll </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">pass
the word along to my monitoring network to keep an eye out for large
populations of </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-style: italic;">A. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-style: italic;">forbesi</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">and
to record any such instances on their filed data </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">sheets</span></div>Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-72550086765060131842012-07-05T12:29:00.001-07:002012-07-05T12:29:03.527-07:00Mark Bertness' Thoughts<!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; text-indent: -0.38in;">Marine
ecologist at Brown (EEB Dept. chair)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There
is no mystery here. This happens every few years. Starfish have no
way to </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">osmoregulate</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and
have no way to bail out freshwater. That's why there are no freshwater
starfish, sea urchins or </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">corals</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-special-format: bullet;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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 </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">balloons</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-37381156735951081012012-07-05T12:27:00.001-07:002012-07-05T12:27:56.090-07:00Ed Baker's Thoughts<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; text-indent: -0.38in;">Tank
caretaker at GSO</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">GSO
tank: "[last fall] in Dr Wessel's sea star tanks the
die off began and slowly rolled through the population (2 months) of the tank
while the tank next to it had no mortalities in its sea star community</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They
received the same water supply and the sea stars had been held for a couple of
years in the other tank. It would seem that the malady is not readily
vectored by the sea water. Also, both tanks experienced low flow events
from time to time (obstructed valve) where they probably experienced low DO and
an increase in temperature. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One
could see ahead of time the onset of the malady where the arm(s) would become
irregular in shape and become narrower close to the body. Eventually, the
arm(s) would detach from the body but seemed to "live" for a couple
days; evidenced by moving tube feet</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Upon
death the arm(s) or what was left of the body would flatten and begin to
disintegrate. I did see a lesion on the top side of an arm where the flesh had
"blossomed" into a 1/2 diameter dome and had a cauliflower type
appearance</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">•</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Upon
touch it was very soft and this consistency extended into the flesh of the arm
much like a rotten spot on fruit. </span></div>Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-37214901976625061102012-07-05T12:22:00.001-07:002012-07-05T12:22:43.251-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Progression of Asterias forbesi from normal to deceased from "illness"</div>
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normal</div>
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decaying spots on arms</div>
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white spots along radial edges of spines and gel-like covering of spines with white spots</div>
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innards leak out of decayed spots on arms and arms fall off</div>
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arms fall off and wiggle around for a while, then die completely</div>
<br />Elena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676831189900721396.post-12916625011372067382012-06-19T15:01:00.003-07:002012-06-20T12:28:48.136-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
THE PROBLEM: A. forbesi, the common sea star, are dying in New England and possibly all along the east coast. Help us figure out why and how to save them.</h2>
<br />
Hello and welcome to Asterias forbesi central, the blog about the "Forbes sea star" (or starfish). It is the common brown/purple starfish found along the East coast:<br />
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<a href="http://www.jaxshells.org/forb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.jaxshells.org/forb.jpg" /></a></div>
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I am a Brown University rising sophomore, research assistant, and NSF and EPSCoR-funded SURF fellow in Dr. Gary Wessel's molecular oogenesis lab (studying the development of eggs, primarily at the molecular level): <a href="http://www.brown.edu/Research/Wessel_Lab/#">http://www.brown.edu/Research/Wessel_Lab/#</a>.<br />
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One of my projects this summer is to determine the cause behind the die-off of this beloved marine creature in New England. It began when Gary mentioned that he heard from someone at MBL of Wood's Hole that the collectors couldn't find enough sea stars to send off to labs (like ours) to study them (we use starfish and sea urchins as model organisms to study development). I went down to the docks at Allen Harbor in Quonset, Rhode Island near my home in North Kingstown that very night with my trusty net and bucket, hoping to find some starfish to study at the lab-but alas! There was only one measly, runty starfish to collect. I've seen starfish at that very harbor on those very pillars my entire life in relatively high abundance, so I was puzzled. My goal now is to find out what's going on with these starfish-whether there is an easy explanation or a complex one, whether there are other implications of a starfish die-off on the ecosystem and its denizens, whether humans will be affected by it (is there something in the mussels that the starfish-and we-eat that is harming and killing the forbesi?), and whether we can do anything to help the starfish get back on their many tube feet.<br />
<br />
Come one, come all to A. forbesi central and put your two cents in.<br />
<br />
-ElenaElena Sugliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534519896027131850noreply@blogger.com0