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Do sunflower seastars have a predator?
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:18 am
by Sea of Green
I did a dive today at the Oil Dock. It's not unusual to see dozens of sunflower seastars there, but today even surprised me, there had to be hundreds of them, I couldn't believe it! My question is, why are they so prolific at the Oil Dock? What controls their population, i.e. what eats them, besides each other? BTW, it was a great dive, vis was a good 30ft, lots of ratfish and other marine life, including an enormous number of sunflower seastars.
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:19 am
by nwscubamom
There are three types of other Seastars that prey on the Sunflower Star - all are called Sun Stars and are in the Solaster genus:
Dawson's Sun Star
Stimpsons Sun Star
Orange Sun Star
Guess there's not many of those around at the oil dock?
- Janna
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 7:53 am
by Sounder
You forgot one - a sunflower star will eat another sunflower star if given the opportunity!!!
Re: Do sunflower seastars have a predator?
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:01 am
by nwscubamom
Sea of Green wrote: i.e. what eats them, besides each other?
Doug, I'm thinkin' he already knew that
- Janna
Re: Do sunflower seastars have a predator?
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:12 am
by Sounder
nwscubamom wrote:Sea of Green wrote: i.e. what eats them, besides each other?
Doug, I'm thinkin' he already knew that
- Janna
Reading...
It gets me every time. ](*,)
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:56 am
by CaptnJack
There are lots of mussels at the oil dock, the sunstars and ratfish are there for those yummy mussels.
While somewhat out of favor there are some ecological concepts pertinent here. "Top down" and "Bottom up"
Top down means something (including an entire ecosystem) is controlled by large predatory stuff at the top of the food chain. Squid and herring are good examples. They have a vast reproductive capacity and their populations are predominantly controlled by predation (includng fishing)
Bottom up is the reverse, where reproductive capacity and/or food supply limits the planet being overrun by some critter(s).
Sunflower stars are more "bottom up" and more limited by food and intraspecific space than by predators. Orcas are also bottom up.
As I said, these concepts are not the current hot topic in ecology - but they illustrate that its not just predation that keeps us form being overrun by seastars.
Stew???
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:29 pm
by kjc
CaptnJack wrote:There are lots of mussels at the oil dock, the sunstars and ratfish are there for those yummy mussels.
While somewhat out of favor there are some ecological concepts pertinent here. "Top down" and "Bottom up"
Top down means something (including an entire ecosystem) is controlled by large predatory stuff at the top of the food chain. Squid and herring are good examples. They have a vast reproductive capacity and their populations are predominantly controlled by predation (includng fishing)
Bottom up is the reverse, where reproductive capacity and/or food supply limits the planet being overrun by some critter(s).
Sunflower stars are more "bottom up" and more limited by food and intraspecific space than by predators. Orcas are also bottom up.
As I said, these concepts are not the current hot topic in ecology - but they illustrate that its not just predation that keeps us form being overrun by seastars. :)
Wwwweeellll then......
Why don't you make us all an Egg Head & Sea Star Stew?
Re: Stew???
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:37 pm
by CaptnJack
kjc wrote:
Wwwweeellll then......
Why don't you make us all an Egg Head & Sea Star Stew?
You're the cook
eeeeyyy'ee Capt'n....
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:47 pm
by kjc
wok on bye, wok on bye....
I'll wok all over uuuu......
It's a beautiful day....
Let us slip away....
It's a beautiful day....
Re: Do sunflower seastars have a predator?
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:18 pm
by Sea of Green
nwscubamom wrote:Sea of Green wrote: i.e. what eats them, besides each other?
Doug, I'm thinkin' he already knew that
- Janna
Like in this picture. We saw a 3-way version of this picture during the dive. This pic was also taken at the Oil Dock several years ago.
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:21 pm
by Sea of Green
CaptnJack wrote:There are lots of mussels at the oil dock, the sunstars and ratfish are there for those yummy mussels.
While somewhat out of favor there are some ecological concepts pertinent here. "Top down" and "Bottom up"
Top down means something (including an entire ecosystem) is controlled by large predatory stuff at the top of the food chain. Squid and herring are good examples. They have a vast reproductive capacity and their populations are predominantly controlled by predation (includng fishing)
Bottom up is the reverse, where reproductive capacity and/or food supply limits the planet being overrun by some critter(s).
Sunflower stars are more "bottom up" and more limited by food and intraspecific space than by predators. Orcas are also bottom up.
As I said, these concepts are not the current hot topic in ecology - but they illustrate that its not just predation that keeps us form being overrun by seastars.
So translated that means there's lots of food and space for them at the Oil Dock?
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:38 pm
by CaptnJack
Yup
Kevin you're into oriental food, do they fry up good?
eeewww....
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:45 pm
by kjc
CaptnJack wrote:Yup
Kevin you're into oriental food, do they fry up good?
Sea Star Tripe?
Huh?
I've never tried....nor will I.
My thought is, NO!
Other wise there probably would have already been a commercial harvest for them.
The dynamics of what is up and what is down would have been turned sideways by now if that were true.
Re: eeewww....
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:36 am
by Sea of Green
kjc wrote:CaptnJack wrote:Yup
Kevin you're into oriental food, do they fry up good?
Sea Star Tripe?
Huh?
I've never tried....nor will I.
My thought is, NO!
Other wise there probably would have already been a commercial harvest for them.
The dynamics of what is up and what is down would have been turned sideways by now if that were true.
Well if not even Kevin will eat them, that explains why they're so abundant!
(Just pokin' ya in the ribs, Kevin!)
Re: eeewww....
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:11 am
by kjc
Sea of Green wrote:Just pokin' ya in the ribs, Kevin!)
wwhheewww.....
Greenie is a player!