Dr. Sarah Cohen, Professor at San Francisco State University, is leading a team to investigate the distribution and abundance of sea stars in the genus Leptasterias.
These are small, six-rayed sea stars that vary in color (e.g., pink, red, green, white, tan, and brown). Adults are typically 2 – 3 cm, but can be somewhat larger. We are requesting information on their presence (or absence) in the subtidal to compare to our intertidal surveys.
If you see a sea star (Leptasterias species only), say something! Enter sighting information at: http://seastarwasting.org/
There is no need to touch the stars, but photos would be helpful, along with GPS coordinates, if you have that capability. Fortunately, many digital cameras and phones have that kind of information embedded in the image, if you have that feature activated on your camera/phone. Dr. Cohen is faculty in the Biology Department and the Estuarine and Ocean Sciences Center of the Romberg Tiburon Campus, SFSU.
To learn more about this project, Leptasterias Subtidal Flier
Examples of Leptasterias below, all photos by Dr. Steve Lonhart, NOAA MBNMS, except as noted.
