About the Sunflower Lab

The sea star wasting syndrome that began in 2013 has devastated sunflower star populations off the West Coast of North America. Sunflower Star Laboratory is a Monterey-based non-profit committed to researching and developing reliable and scalable aquaculture methods for sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) conservation and reintroduction.

 

We are coordinating with the Pycnopodia Recovery Work Group, a group of scientists formed to develop recovery management strategies, to achieve this mission in support of sunflower star recovery in areas where sunflower stars are functionally extinct. Our board is composed of an experienced, interdisciplinary group of researchers, marine conservation professionals, project managers and environmental educators passionate about the restoration of sunflower stars.

 

Sunflower Star Laboratory leads research and conservation to recover the sunflower star, a keystone species, building kelp forest resilience within their communities.  Sunflower stars are key predators that help protect kelp forests from urchin overgrazing. Their population collapse in California is a prominent factor in the conversion of vibrant kelp forest ecosystems into urchin barrens. More than 96% of Northern California’s kelp forests have disappeared in the last 10 years, in large part due to urchin overgrazing. Kelp forests provide a home for over a thousand different species of marine organisms, from the tiniest of nudibranchs to charismatic rafts of otters and sea lions. They feed abalone, juvenile smelt and herring, and other important species. Kelp forests capture and store carbon, reduce coastal erosion, delight divers, and attract residents and tourists to the Pacific Coast. Restoring the sunflower star is a vital pillar in the fight to rehabilitate California kelp forest and protect their thousands of inhabitants.

 

You can learn more about sunflower stars and the lab here:  https://www.sunflowerstarlab.org/