Encyclopedia9 min read
Basket Star (Gorgonocephalus eucnemis): Species Profile
Basket stars unfurl branching arms into cold currents to sieve plankton at night. Meet Gorgonocephalus eucnemis, the kelp coast's living gorgon head.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
#echinoderms
7 articles
Encyclopedia8 min read
Bat Star: The Patient Omnivore Cleaning Up Kelp Forest Detritus
The bat star (Patiria miniata) is the kelp forest's web-fingered clean-up crew — a slow omnivore that turns detritus into reef fertility. Facts, ecology, where to see one.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia9 min read
Giant Red Sea Cucumber: The Forest Floor's Vacuum Cleaner
Apostichopus californicus, the biggest sea cucumber on the Pacific coast, recycles kelp forest sediment from Alaska to California. Biology, defences, fishery.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia9 min read
Green Sea Urchin: The Boreal Grazer That Built the Northern Barrens
The green sea urchin grazes kelp from Norway to Nova Scotia to Alaska. Its biology, the barrens it builds, the roe fishery it feeds, and how reefs recover.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia9 min read
Long-Spined Sea Urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii): The Barren-Maker Marching South
The long-spined sea urchin is reshaping Australia's temperate reefs as warming currents carry it south — a species profile of the barren-builder of Tasmania.
Dr. Lena Fischer ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Warty Sea Cucumber: The Reef's Recycling System
Apostichopus parvimensis vacuums detritus off California reefs day and night, cycling nutrients for the whole kelp forest. Biology, defences and the fishery.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia9 min read
Brittle Stars of the Kelp Forest: A Group Profile
Brittle stars are the kelp forest's most numerous residents — five-armed floor-dwellers by the thousand. Learn how they differ from sea stars and why they matter.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·