This wasting disease caused eight starfish at the Anchorage museum to be euthanized in the fall. The article states that the starfish are dying from sea star wasting syndrome. The Anchorage Daily News describes sea star wasting syndrome as “an affliction that causes white lesions to develop on the starfish’s skin and an unnatural twisting of the arms”. The starfish die from the loss of their arms and the softening of their tissues. The first discovered evidence of sea star wasting syndrome was off the coast of Alaska.
I could not be more interested in this. Starfish were my favorite thing to find at the beach when I was little and I couldn’t imagine not being able to find them anymore! I thought that this article provided a clear, brief summary that had all the necessary details. I wish that maybe there were a little more extra details because now I still have some questions; Is this something to be worried about for all of the other creatures in the ocean? Also, is this dangerous enough as to potentially wipe out a significant amount of all the starfish in the ocean? And lastly, how do the starfish acquire this disease?
While reading this article I thought back to what I learned in biology class was that starfish reproduce by regeneration. Regeneration is a type of asexual reproduction where the loss of a part off of a parent grows into a whole other organism. When reading this article it seemed weird to me that the starfish were dying because of their loss of arms because I thought that they just grew back as a result of regeneration. Anyone interested in sea life should check this article out!
images from lukemiller.org and livescience.com
I really enjoyed your post. I had yet to hear of this syndrome and I'm glad you shed some light on this topic. I rarely think about new syndromes and diseases that could develop at this point, seeing as I consider our planet to be old. But it's things like this that remind me that even evolved species aren't safe. I like that you gave examples of questions you had after reading the article; it made the reader think more about your post. Great post!
ReplyDeleteNice job. Your article was very interesting. It is very disturbing to hear that this syndrome could be affecting millions and I appreciate you bringing it to our attention. I also connected to Bio class's lesson on regeneration when reading this article and wondered about their ability to grow a new arm back. Very nice article and cool but saddening topic. I enjoyed your conversational tone throughout the post, I think that makes a big difference sometimes. Great post, keep it up!
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Julia! I thought your summary described the issue well. This is a very interesting article, as I had not heard about this disease before. I really liked that you included questions that you had about the article. It got me thinking about whether or not all starfish will become extinct due to this disease. I also really liked your connection to class. I was thinking the same thing as I read your post: Wouldn't starfish just be able to grow their arms back?
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post. The title caught my eye, and I figured it'd be a good read. It is interesting to read about the development of new diseases like this, especially when we don't yet know the reason for this new syndrome. I like that you gave us questions to ponder at the end, but I didn't think you really stated a clear opinion. Its obvious that we can't do much about this, but we should at least find out what causes this defect. Your post was well written and easy to understand. Good job.
ReplyDeleteYou did awesome, Julia. I was really impressed by this post and how well it was written. I really liked how you showed two pictures instead of just one like the requirement says. I had no clue that there was a syndrome like this and that starfish are dying from it. I really I got thinking about this and I am wondering if maybe humans had something to do with this. We have been the cause of many species going extinct due to over hunting, pollution, etc. I also thought the same thing you thought, which was why don't the starfish just regenerate their arms? I am guessing that the syndrome also stops regeneration or slows it to the point where their losing limbs faster than they can regrow them. I liked your post and I really got thinking about the subject, great job!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog post! Your title got me interested to read your article because it was clear and it wasn't too wordy. Like you said, it's weird that starfish are dying from a disease that causes them to lose their legs, because starfish can grow back their legs and regenerate from just one leg. Strange diseases like these always seem a bit eerie to me, especially considering that humans contract diseases like these from animals. We can't grow back our legs!
ReplyDeleteYou did a really great job on this post. I was interested to see what the post was about when I read the title and your introduction was intriguing. I like how you kept your post simple and not too confusing so it was easy to understand. I never heard of this syndrome before and it was cool to hear what it is about and how it affects starfish. Overall it was an interesting post and you did a great job.
ReplyDeleteJulia, I really enjoyed your post. Your title was creative and made me want to read more. You bring up an interesting point that this disease could affect other organisms that live in the ocean. Your connection with class was also interesting, as the starfish should just be regenerating the parts that they lose. I liked how you described what you liked about the article. Overall, good job.
ReplyDeleteJulia you had a great blog post. Your writing was very easy to follow and I gained a good description of the virus. The pictures you put into the post also made reading it more enjoyable because they helped to describe the virus. I think that maybe the virus prevents the starfish from regenerating which is why they lose their limbs. Overall, great post.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your title and it intrigued me to read the article. I had no idea that a majority of starfish were dying because of a serious disease. Having never heard of the wasting disease I am very interested in it. I wonder why it’s called the wasting disease. You brought up a good point that when reading this article it seemed weird that the starfish were dying because of their loss of arms because I also thought that they just grew back as a result of regeneration. I never even knew that starfish were endangered! Overall great job Julia!
ReplyDeleteGood job Julia. I really liked how you had a good summary of what the article explained. I agree that it is weird to think of starfish with not all of the 5 perfect legs looking like a star. Similar to your question, I was also wondering if this could affect other aquatic animals even though the disease is called sea star wasting syndrome. I always thought that if one of the legs of a starfish fell off or got cut off, it would grow back so I wonder why this disease would make it any different.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was really interesting to read. I also used to like to look for starfish at the beach when I was younger. I'm really intrigued to learn more about this disease, because like every one else, I'm also confused as to why they cannot grow back their legs. Overall, your post was written clearly and eeasy to understand. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteGood Blog!. I also like to look for starfish at the beach. This Is probably very concerning to many people. Imagine the damage it can cause to the ecosystem. I don't really how the star fish can be harmed by the loosing of a leg/arm. I thought they just grew back. Overall, great blog
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ReplyDeleteGreat Job! This was a very interesting blog to read and I was hooked right away by your tittle. I never knew that starfish were being affected by this disease and it is great that you brought this issue to peoples attention. It is sad that starfish are dying because I used to love to see starfish at the beach as a kid too. Also I wonder why the starfish cannot just grow their legs back. Nice Job!
ReplyDeleteJulia, great job! Your title really caught my eye and made me want to read your summary. I find it so interesting that starfish are dying from the loss of their arms and softening of their tissues. All this time I thought that starfish were capable of regenerating their limbs if they lost them. Overall, your summary was really strong and you did a nice job on analyzing the article.
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