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We used lab experiments to measure feeding rates on starved and fed urchins. Pycnopodia can eat~5 purple urchins/week (0.68/day/star). We had so many feeding trial videos we had to train deep neural networks to track the movements, creating 5.8 million rows of coordinate data! 👀

Our new research suggests that #sunflower sea stars were capable of controlling sea urchin populations before sea star wasting hit. Since they declined, we’ve seen urchin booms and kelp busts. Aaron W. E. Galloway, Ph.D. DanOkamoto The Nature Conservancy in California kgw.com/video/tech/sci… via KGW News

A picture says 10,000 words? 👀 (This is the full word count of our new paper on Pycnopodia predation on purple sea urchins). Epic photos by Dr. Lynn Lee, showing the halo effects of the 'landscape of fear' that the #SunflowerSeaStar creates for urchins. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rs…

What is your favorite #sunflowerseastar name? I like 'Drumstick' and 'Cordyceps' myself! This is the sea star roster from our new paper on sea star predation on sea urchins. Message: they're hungry! #pycnonomnom Aaron W. E. Galloway, Ph.D. DanOkamoto The Nature Conservancy in California royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rs…

SCIENCE FRIDAY Researchers, including OSU's Sarah Gravem, 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 kelp-eating urchins. today.oregonstate.edu/news/sea-stars…

Restoring #sunflowerseastars may be one of the best tools we have for recovering healthy #kelp forests! ICYMI, check out our recent work, now in the The New York Times 🤩@DanielKOkamoto Aaron W. E. Galloway, Ph.D. The Nature Conservancy in California

Get a wiggle on this Monday with our sand dollars!

Today, NOAA proposed list the animal as threatened under federal Endangered Species Act. A #sunflowerstar recovery program led by The Nature Conservancy in California supports captive breeding and epidemiology Friday Harbor Labs and epidemiology Hakai Institute says @BredaIsabella seattletimes.com/seattle-news/e…

Today is the day! NOAAFish_WCRO just proposed listing #sunflowerseastars as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Soooo many people helped make this happen! Dr. Sara Hamilton (she/her) The Nature Conservancy in California REEF Reef Check PISCO Science Sanctuaries (NOAA) and more! Now the recovery stage!

If you want to know more about the plan to recover the *ESA listed as Threatened* #sunflowerseastar, check out our recovery plan!

Save the Date! Marine Science Day is Sat., April 8, 10 - 4. Everyone is invited to our annual science fair & open house w/ 40+ marine science programs & labs based at Hatfield. This hands-on event is FREE, family-friendly & ideal for lifelong learners. hmsc.oregonstate.edu/marine-science…

The #sunflowerseastar is on the front page of the Washington Post! So excited to see this momentum for recovery of these critters in the wild! Nice work Oregon Coast Aquarium Team and more!

The PISCO Science lab at #OSU had a record- breaking THIRTEEN undergraduate research students presenting at our annual poster symposium today! I’m so proud! kelp forests, sea stars, barnacles phytoplankton and beyond!

Very proud of my undergraduate mentee Rana for her efforts during her URSA Engage internship!! We're studying the diversity of invertebrates living in mussel beds along the Oregon coast. She presented her first research poster at Celebrating Undergraduate Excellence! @ursaosu

First few diving days in Sitka done, complete with 🐋 🦦 🦭 🐙 🐟 and a whole bunch of #sunflowerseastar! Now onto some experiments! Let’s do this Aaron W. E. Galloway, Ph.D. and Kroeker! Best team ever!

I’ve never been so stoked on a project! I love my team! Aaron W. E. Galloway, Ph.D.

New paper out from our group (CTEL ) by Dr. Ross Whippo 🏳️‍🌈 quantifying the effects of the chemical cues of Pycnopodia on purple urchin grazing rates (starved vs fed) in Ecosphere. Check it out! Thanks to U.S. National Science Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Friday Harbor Labs for funding! esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ec…