6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 18-24, 2024 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 The similarities between the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Southern Ocean are few. However, a keystone species found in both ecosystems brought a team of researchers and divers from several institutions, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, to Antarctica for a three-week dive trip. Sunflower stars live in rocky kelp forests off the coasts of North America and Antarctica. Alongside fellow predators like sea otters, sunflower stars feed on the forest’s urchins, helping maintain ecological balance. These nearly 3-footwide stars can be purple, orange or beige, with 20 arms or more. Sunflower stars were once one of the most recognizable sea stars on the Pacific coast. An outbreak of sea star wasting syndrome on the West Coast of North America killed more than 90 percent of sunflower sea stars from 2013 to 2017. This die-off is considered “the largest marine wildlife disease outbreak on record,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This sea star was granted federal protection under the Endangered Species Act in 2023. April Ridlon, director of science for the Ocean Conservation Department of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, says work is just beginning to understand “Pycno,” or Pycnopodia helianthoides, the scientific name for sunflower stars. “The evidence for how Pycno supports kelp forest persistence or recovery is slim because they fell prey to [wasting syndrome] before this work was done,” Ridlon says. The Aquarium is also exploring housing or growing the sea stars. George Peterson, director of dive programs at the Aquarium, spent two years helping plan the research trip. Citizen scientists, including some from Monterey, paid to attend and focused on collecting baseline assessments, or a snapshot of ocean conditions. Many of these areas had never had scientific diving surveys done before. “We can go back and survey again to get a better understanding of what may be happening, why is all of this happening, and what we can do to help,” Peterson says. Teams worked long days from 6am to 10:30pm, wearing heated vests and dry gloves for scientific dives of 45 minutes or less in 29-degree water. “You lose manual dexterity very quickly,” Peterson says. “Doing scientific dives in that extreme environment was very taxing.” Peterson struggles to describe the Antarctic landscape, referring to the fantastical surroundings found in Lord of the Rings or Star Wars as the closest available comparison. However, underwater the environment was dishearteningly familiar. After more than 240 team dives, three organisms showed signs of sea star wasting syndrome in the Southern Ocean. “You may say, ‘Yay, only three’ but conversely, we found three,” Peterson says. “We were hopeful we would not find evidence [of wasting syndrome] and we did. No area I’ve dove in on the West Coast of North America or South America is untouched.” As research on the syndrome evolves, human-fueled climate change appears to be the most likely culprit. Continued research is needed to understand the influence of freshwater runoff from melting glaciers on the Southern Ocean ecosystem, for example. “Unfortunately, there is nowhere in the ocean that is untouched by climate change,” Ridlon says. “Doing comparative research like this allows ecologists to learn common lessons.” Understanding the relationships between seemingly unrelated parts of the globe reinforces the importance of water sources. “It’s one ocean,” Peterson notes. “How one ecosystem might be affected thousands of miles away, is literally not that far away.” Another trip to Antarctica to capture the next round of assessments will happen in 2026. Peterson hopes to go back. “When you’re there, you’re cold, tired and engaged in the work. You don’t know how you pulled it off,” Peterson says. “After some reflection, you just can’t see how you can’t go back. What’s happening in Antarctica, I believe will determine the fate of the world’s oceans. We all must tell the story of what’s happening.” Seeing Stars Sea star research takes a Monterey Bay Aquarium team on an Antarctic expedition. By Caitlin Fillmore People on the February-March 2024 trip to Antarctica included paying citizen scientists, as well as staff from institutions like the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of Hawaii, among others. “That extreme environment was very taxing.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE COURTESY OF MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM The Chamber Connects At the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, we are connectors, providing our members with valuable introductions to new customers and referral sources. If you're looking for a platform to initiate important conversations and grow your business, we invite you to join our business association on the Monterey Peninsula! Join Today! • montereychamber.com • info@montereychamber.com • 831.648.5350
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