In Northern California, purple sea urchins are decimating kelp forests. Though the species of urchin causing problems may vary by region, the damage is the same. NNehring/iStock This article is from ...

Researchers have provided the first experimental evidence that a species of endangered sea star protects kelp forests along North America's Pacific Coast by preying on substantial numbers of ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A research team including a scientist from Oregon State University has provided the first experimental evidence that a species of endangered sea star protects kelp forests along ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. (KTVZ) – A research team including a scientist from Oregon State University has provided the first experimental evidence that a species of endangered sea star protects kelp forests ...

The sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) can be found throughout intertidal and subtidal coastal waters of the northeast Pacific Ocean, from Alaska to at least northern Baja California, ...

Oregon State University biologist and diver Sarah Gravem motors past Sitka on her way to a kelp forest she is monitoring. (Photo by Jake Metzger) A few weeks ago, Sarah Gravem lowered a “ravenous, ...

A few weeks ago, Sarah Gravem lowered a “ravenous, terrifying predator” from her boat down to the ocean floor off Sitka. Then she released it. In a slow-motion drama, sea urchins fled as a pizza-size ...

Sea stars could play a key role in protecting threatened kelp forests, according to new research from University of Oregon and Oregon State University scientists. The study, published Wednesday in ...

Purple sea urchins, beware: There’s a purple urchin-eating predator on the horizon — and its name is the sunflower sea star. That’s the plot line coming from a small upstart research facility in Moss ...

Graduate student Nikita Sridhar shows the underside of a sunflower star, with stomach protruding and urchin spines stuck to its arms. (Meredith Redick/KCAW) Alaska has no shortage of marine predators ...

Adorably fuzzy sea otters aren’t just cute. The marine mammals serve a crucial role, helping to restore the giant kelp forests they rely on by removing their top predators, the sea urchins. When ...