/ecosystems/article/44848?utm_source=feedburnerutm_medium=feedutm_campaign=Feed%3A+SustainableEcosystemsAndCommunityNews-Enn+%28Sustainable+Ecosystems+and+Community+News+-+ENN%29
For
millions of years, sea stars have been among the most recognized oceanic
organisms. People around the world have recognized their beauty and importance
since ancient times. Finding one washed up on the shore or during a snorkeling
expedition is even more exciting and chances are we will be seeing one species,
the yellow brittle sea star, Ophiothela mirabilis, more often
as it has made it’s way to the Atlantic Ocean.
ADVERTISEMENT
However,
this colorful, six-armed species of sea star is not be welcomed to these
waters. In a study published in Coral Reefs, the Journal of the
International Society for Reef Studies, Ophiothela mirabilis, which was
once restricted to Pacific waters, has been found at Brazilian and Caribbean
ports in the Atlantic Ocean. Not only is this species non-native to the Atlantic
Ocean, but it is considered invasive because of its ability to reproduce
asexually. The ophiothela brittle star clings in multitudes to corals and
sponges splits in two, regenerating severed body structures. The ability of one
star to “clone” vast numbers of identical twins enormously increases
the species capacity to multiply and disperse.
Invasive
species have a massive impact on our economy and our environment, causing over
100 billion dollars of damage in the U.S. alone, every year. The costs associated
with invasive marine species can include interference with fisheries, damage to
infrastructure, and competition with native species causing loss of
biodiversity.
Co-written
by Dr. Gordon Hendler of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM),
the study explains that the impact of the ophiothela brittle star remains to be
seen. Little is known about the biology of marine invertebrates (except for
commercially important species) so it is difficult to foresee how it will
affect the ecology of its new habitat.
However,
further expansion of the range of Ophiothela could change the appearance
and the ecology of Atlantic coral reef communities because ophiothelas, in
multitudes, densely colonize gorgonians and sponges on Indo-West central
Pacific and on tropical eastern Pacific reefs.
Read more at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
O. mirabilis on Sea Fan image via Alvaro Migotto. Courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.