In recent years, millions of the starfish, also called sea stars, have had their legs curl up and pull away from their bodies, breaking the animals to pieces before they turn to mush, often in a matter of days. Scientists have been left racing to figure out why. Once densely packed onto the rocks and on the ocean floor, the key predators are simply missing from some locations, their numbers cut by 95 percent or more. The phenomenon, called Sea Star Wasting Syndrome, was first noticed by rangers in Olympic National Park in Washington state in 2013. It has now been documented from California to Alaska, and led to die-off that is bigger and more widely spread than any seen before.

Is climate change killing American starfish?. (2015, October 2-3). BusinessWorld, p. S3/5.