A
decade
ago,
mo e
tha
99%
of
su flowe
sea
sta s
va ished
f om
the
depths
of
the
ocea .
Now,
the
discove y
of
a
lo g-lost
colo y
of
these
o ga isms
is
offe i g
ew
hope
fo
the
egio ‘s
kelp
fo ests.Su flowe
sea
sta s,
k ow
as
Pyc opodia
helia thoides,
may
look
like
a
aesthetic
a d
pu ely
deco ative
featu e
o
the
ocea
floo ,
but
they
a e
fe ocious
p edato s.
As
adults,
they
ca
g ow
up
to
24
a ms,
spa
th ee
feet
wide,
a d
move
th ee
feet
pe
mi ute.
They
a e
supe lative,
a d
alie ,
o e
of
the
la gest
a d
a guably
most
ave ous
sea
sta s
i
the
wo ld.They
domi ated
much
of
the
ocea
floo
u til
the
e d
of
2013,
whe
a
colossal
ma i e
heatwave
swept
ove
the
o theast
Pacific
just
as
a
myste ious
u de wate
epidemic
bega
causi g
them
to
die
off
e
masse.
A
deadly
ailme t
pocked
the
sta fish
bodies
with
lesio s
a d
the
dissolved
i to
thei
flesh.
It
affected
oughly
20
species
a d
killed
a
whoppi g
57.5
billio
sea
sta s.
Ove
the
past
ce tu y,
these
la ge
ibbo s
of
golde -b ow
seaweed
had
al eady
dwi dled
i
some
st etches
of
the
coast,
due
to
the
wa mi g
ocea
co ditio s.
A
damaged
ecosystem
Without
the
p ese ce
of
a
p ima y
p edato ,
a
excess
of
pu ple
sea
u chi s
i satiably
co sumed
the
su ou di g
kelp
fo ests.
By
2017,
this
sudde
explosio
of
hu g y
sea
u chi s
a d
a
o goi g
ma i e
heat
wave,
st e gthe ed
by
a
El
Niño
weathe
patte ,
wiped
out
mo e
tha
90
pe
ce t
of
kelp
fo ests
i
some
West
Coast
egio s.Kelp
fo ests
o
the
West
Coast
a e
c itical
habitats
that
suppo t
doze s
of
species
i cludi g
d ifti g
pla kto
a d
mig ati g
g ey
whales.
They
also
fo m
a
habitat
fo
luc ative
fish
species
like
ockfish,
abalo e
a d
c abs.
Mo e,
kelp
itself
is
a
sustai able
food
a d
helps
sequeste
atmosphe ic
ca bo .Howeve ,
without
the
p ese ce
of
su flowe
sea
sta s,
kelp
fo ests
have
bee
u able
to
g ow
back
without
bei g
devou ed
by
the
hu g y
pu ple
sea
u chi s.
A
decade
i to
this
devastatio ,
wea y
coastal
commu ities
impacted
by
the
loss
of
these
ecosystems
th ough
the
state
alo g
with
the
scie tists
studyi g
this
e vi o me t
wo de ed
whethe
a
populatio
of
the
su flowe
sea
sta s
may
have
su vived
somewhe e,
tucked
i to
a
p otected
coastal
i let
o
estled
i to
a
fo gotte
eef.
