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Sunday, May 8, 2016

Growing up


Juvenile Ochre Sea Stars (Pisaster ochraceus), photographed 8 May 2016.  Most of these individuals are ~2.5 years old (and ~2-4 cm across).  Wish them luck!

Here's an example of how they start out the individual below is less than 6 months old:


6 comments:

John W. Wall said...

I'm glad they're still living long enough to reproduce!

John W. Wall said...

P.S. Did you see this: http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Sea-star-babies-return-in-droves-amid-die-off-7420621.php

Jackie Sones said...

Hi, John!

Thanks for that link -- I hadn't seen it yet. We're tracking the recovery of Ochre Sea Stars at a couple of sites in Bodega Bay. I would agree with the last line of the SF Chronicle article -- it's good to be optimistic about the presence of juveniles, but the future is uncertain as the juveniles are susceptible to all sorts of things and wasting disease symptoms are still present in both adults and juveniles. It'll be interesting to see how this story unfolds.

Leth Benz said...

Just in time for Bat Star Softball Season!

This is beautiful, thanks for sharing!

GSS said...

Wanted to send a pic of a nine armed sea star Chooch found on the beach in Captiva after a storm last fall-can I send it to your blog,if so how?

Jackie Sones said...

Hi, Geoff!

I don't think there's a way for you to upload a photo to the blog, but you can send it to me by e-mail. It'd be fun to see your sea star from Captiva!

:) Jackie