Devastating Transboundary Impacts of Sea Star Wasting Disease on Subtidal Asteroids.

Diego Montecino-Latorre,Christy V Pattengill-Semmens,C Drew Harvell,Morgan E Eisenlord,Reyn Yoshioka,Margaret Turner,Joseph K Gaydos,Janna D Nichols,Erik V Thuesen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0163190

Diego Montecino-Latorre, Christy V Pattengill-Semmens + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163190

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Abstract

Sea star wasting disease devastated intertidal sea star populations from Mexico to Alaska between 2013–15, but little detail is known about its impacts to subtidal species. We assessed the impacts of sea star wasting disease in the Salish Sea, a Canadian / United States transboundary marine ecosystem, and world-wide hotspot for temperate asteroid species diversity with a high degree of endemism. We analyzed roving diver survey data for the three most common subtidal sea star species collected by trained volunteer scuba divers between 2006–15 in 5 basins and on the outer coast of Washington, as well as scientific strip transect data for 11 common subtidal asteroid taxa collected by scientific divers in the San Juan Islands during the spring/summer of 2014 and 2015. Our findings highlight differential susceptibility and impact of sea star wasting disease among asteroid species populations and lack of differences between basins or on Washington’s outer coast. Specifically, severe depletion of sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) in the Salish Sea support reports of major declines in this species from California to Alaska, raising concern for the conservation of this ecologically important subtidal predator.

Highlights

Not as well recognized or well documented, infectious disease can be as important as predation in structuring ecological communities [1,2,3]
Recent examples of widespread marine diseases with large community impacts include the near extirpation of a top predator, the intertidal sea star Heliaster kubiniji from Gulf of California, due to a devastating epidemic, and resulting expansion of a rock snail competitor, Morula ferruginosa [5], the mass mortality of the urchin Diadema antillarum from Caribbean reefs and subsequent macroalgal cover of corals [6,7], and the withering syndrome-related extirpation of black
We studied the potential impacts of sea star wasting disease (SSWD) in the Salish Sea, an inland marine ecosystem shared between British Columbia, Canada and Washington State, United States [18]

Summary

Introduction

Not as well recognized or well documented, infectious disease can be as important as predation in structuring ecological communities [1,2,3]. Recent examples of widespread marine diseases with large community impacts include the near extirpation of a top predator, the intertidal sea star Heliaster kubiniji from Gulf of California, due to a devastating epidemic, and resulting expansion of a rock snail competitor, Morula ferruginosa [5], the mass mortality of the urchin Diadema antillarum from Caribbean reefs and subsequent macroalgal cover of corals [6,7], and the withering syndrome-related extirpation of black. Impacts of Sea Star Wasting Disease on Subtidal Asteroids protocol for REEF Environmental Education Foundation - to make the data freely available online 24/7 in the format available, and for free as raw data by request. Dataset 2: Strip Transect Surveys all of these data are NOT in the REEF database and are freely available from Fig Share: https://figshare. Diego (2016): Subtidal sea star SSWD May-August 2014. 3467801.v1 AND https://figshare.com/articles/ Subtidal_sea_star_species_density_2014_-2015_ San_Juan_Islands/3467753 Montecino, Diego (2016): Subtidal sea star species density 2014 -2015 San Juan Islands. All of the models used to analyze the data are provided within the manuscript and supplemental information provided

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