Rare sunflower sea stars spawn at California aquarium. See the ‘pizza-size’ creatures

Don Sweeney
·2 min read
6

Three critically endangered sunflower sea stars have spawned as part of a complex project at a California aquarium, experts say.

But it doesn’t mean baby sea stars are on the way — yet.

“Pizza-size” sunflower sea stars are considered functionally extinct in California and Oregon, Birch Aquarium officials said in a news release.

Three sunflower sea stars, considered functionally extinct in California, have spawned at a San Diego aquarium.
Three sunflower sea stars, considered functionally extinct in California, have spawned at a San Diego aquarium.

“Our collective goal is to save them from extinction,” aquarist Melissa Torres said. The aquarium is part of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

The aquarium induced three of its endangered sea stars to spawn genetic material for future reproduction in a “monumental milestone,” experts said.

Sunflower sea stars reproduce by spawning — or releasing clouds of genetic material into the sea. When genetic material produced by male and female sea stars meets, new sea stars are born.

Working with the Aquarium of the Pacific, Steinhart Aquarium at California Academy of Sciences, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and the Sunflower Star Laboratory, experts developed a “concoction of spawn-inducing hormones,” the release said.

They administered the hormones to three of Birch Aquarium’s five sunflower sea stars, causing them to spawn, experts said. All three turned out to be male.

The aquarium collected the genetic material, which was frozen for future use in efforts to restore the species, experts said.

“Birch Aquarium can help this recovery effort by providing genetic diversity, exemplary animal care techniques and groundbreaking new protocols,” Torres said.

Sunflower sea star populations have been hit hard by a “mysterious” sea star wasting disease on the West Coast over the past 10 years, the aquarium said.

“This is a big deal as these pizza-sized stars play an essential role in the overall health of kelp forests,” officials said. “They keep sea urchin populations in check, safeguarding kelp forests from the adverse effects of overgrazing by sea urchins.”

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