Wednesday, July 6, 2016

The colors of the stars


Color variations in Pisaster ochraceus.  

Photographed 6 July 2016.
 

3 comments:

  1. How big are these guys? Are you seeing good numbers or them and do they look healthy? Such a great photo.

    Carol

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  2. Hi, Carol!

    I think the largest (uppermost) individual in this photo was ~9 cm (~3.5 inches) across. I'd say we're seeing decent numbers of them, and for the most part they look healthy. We are still encountering individuals with wasting disease symptoms, so we're hopeful but also cautious when thinking about the future of local populations.

    I love learning about the juveniles...and often struggle to come up with good names for all of the different colors.

    :) Jackie

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