Geology Reports⌕ Search
Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70270312

Sea star wasting disease mystery finally solved

Kevin D. Lafferty
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

A decade after a marine epidemic killed off sea stars and triggered ecosystem-wide effects along the Pacific Coast of North America, researchers have identified the bacterial pathogen that is responsible for sea star wasting disease.

Explore related subjects

Nature Ecology and EvolutionArticle

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Kevin D. Lafferty. 2025-08-04. Sea star wasting disease mystery finally solved. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02789-2

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Growth form and lifespan of herbaceous species mediate the role of traits in short-term drought response

Increased climate variability is expected to intensify short-term drought events. Plants have evolved stress tolerance strategies involving trade-offs in resource conservation, mycorrhizal collaboration and plant size, yet how these strategies promote drought resistance across different herbaceous plant groups remains unknown. Leveraging 63 globally distributed grassland and shrubland sites from the International Drought Experiment, we identified plant traits linked to drought resistance in 661 populations of 421 species after 1 year of extreme drought. We assessed how traits, site precipitation and drought severity affected cover change across growth forms and lifespans, and how trait–environment interactions influenced drought resistance. Across all species, leaf N (an acquisitive trait) was associated with drought resistance, whereas in forbs, drought resistance was also associated with a conservative root trait and plant size. In addition, interactions among traits mediated drought resistance; root traits predicted performance only in concert with other traits. Environmental variables influenced trait effects on drought resistance, notably for annuals in wetter sites, suggesting that drought-escape strategies in annuals may be advantageous only under mild stress. Our study highlights variability in traits that predict drought resistance across herbaceous plant groups, emphasizing the importance of species context, environmental stress and the selection of traits in research and management.

Nature Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS2026

Abiotic and biotic controls of non-native perennial plant success in drylands

Drivers of non-native plant success in drylands are poorly understood. Here we identify functional differences between dryland native and non-native perennial plants and assess how biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic factors shape the success of the latter. On the basis of plant community and functional trait data from 98 sites across 25 countries, we report a total of 41 non-native plant species at 31 sites. Non-natives tend towards faster growth strategies than natives. Non-native plant richness is higher at sites with greater grazing pressure and under environmental conditions associated with higher soil fertility, decomposition and fungal richness—conditions that tend to occur in less arid regions—and lower where native plant and herbivore richness are greater. Non-native plant cover correlates positively with grazing pressure and negatively with native plant richness. Taken together, our results suggest that non-native plant success in drylands is facilitated when high grazing pressure coincides with elevated resource availability. Such context-dependence of non-native plant success and linkages with native plant and herbivore diversity highlight the need for managing grazing and conserving biodiversity across the world’s drylands.

Nature Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS2022

Industrial energy development decouples ungulate migration from the green wave

The ability to freely move across the landscape to track the emergence of nutritious spring green-up (termed ‘green-wave surfing’) is key to the foraging strategy of migratory ungulates. Across the vast landscapes traversed by many migratory herds, habitats are being altered by development with unknown consequences for surfing. Using a unique long-term tracking dataset, we found that when energy development occurs within mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) migration corridors, migrating animals become decoupled from the green wave. During the early phases of a coalbed natural gas development, deer synchronized their movements with peak green-up. But faced with increasing disturbance as development expanded, deer altered their movements by holding up at the edge of the gas field and letting the green wave pass them by. Development often modified only a small portion of the migration corridor but had far-reaching effects on behaviour before and after migrating deer encountered it, thus reducing surfing along the entire route by 38.65% over the 14-year study period. Our study suggests that industrial development within migratory corridors can change the behaviour of migrating ungulates and diminish the benefits of migration. Such disruptions to migratory behaviour present a common mechanism whereby corridors become unprofitable and could ultimately be lost on highly developed landscapes.

Wyoming↗