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New eDNA tool to help track recovery of sunflower sea star, a Pacific Coast ‘apex predator’
New eDNA tool to help track recovery of sunflower sea star, a Pacific Coast ‘apex predator’ Michael Peñuelas, a Seattle scuba diver, examines a large sunflower sea star in the Edmonds Marine Park in Puget Sound, Washington, in 2021. (Image credit: Courtesy of Zachary Gold) June 25, 2026 A wasting disease that surged during the intense 2013-2016 Pacific marine heatwave known as the Blob decimated numerous species of sea stars and triggered the collapse of vast coastal kelp forests from the Aleutians to the Baja Peninsula. One of the species most affected was the sunflower sea star , an apex predator that feeds on kelp grazers like sea urchins. As captive breeding programs and the discovery of additional sea star refuges, (like the one found in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in August 2025 ) fuel hopes for the sunflower sea star, researchers at NO
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New eDNA tool to help track recovery of sunflower sea star, a Pacific Coast ‘apex predator’ Michael Peñuelas, a Seattle scuba diver, examines a large sunflower sea star in the Edmonds Marine Park in Puget Sound, Washington, in 2021. (Image credit: Courtesy of Zachary Gold) June 25, 2026 A wasting disease that surged during the intense 2013-2016 Pacific marine heatwave known as the Blob decimated numerous species of sea stars and triggered the collapse of vast coastal kelp forests from the Aleutians to the Baja Peninsula. One of the species most affected was the sunflower sea star , an apex predator that feeds on kelp grazers like sea urchins. As captive breeding programs and the discovery of additional sea star refuges, (like the one found in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in August 2025 ) fuel hopes for the sunflower sea star, researchers at NO
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According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s public record item, New eDNA tool to help track recovery of sunflower sea star, a Pacific Coast ‘apex predator’, New eDNA tool to help track recovery of sunflower sea star, a Pacific Coast ‘apex predator’ Michael Peñuelas, a Seattle scuba diver, examines a large sunflower sea star in the Edmonds Marine Park in Puget Sound, Washington, in 2021. (Image credit: Courtesy of Zachary Gold) June 25, 2026 A wasting disease that surged during the intense 2013-2016 Pacific marine heatwave known as the Blob decimated numerous species of sea stars and triggered the collapse of vast coastal kelp forests from the Aleutians to the Baja Peninsula. One of the species most affected was the sunflower sea star , an apex predator that feeds on kelp grazers like sea urchins. As captive breeding programs and the discovery of additional sea star refuges, (like the one found in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in August 2025 ) fuel hopes for the sunflower sea star, researchers at NO
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Primary source: New eDNA tool to help track recovery of sunflower sea star, a Pacific Coast ‘apex predator’ via National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- New eDNA tool to help track recovery of sunflower sea star, a Pacific Coast ‘apex predator’National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - 2026-06-24T16:39:05+00:00
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