Brittle sea stars cling to deep sea
coral. Photo Credit: ECOGIG
Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal recently released a new article in partnership with the Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf (ECOGIG) consortium called A Brittle Star May Be a Coral’s Best Friend. Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, ECOGIG researchers began studying the impacts of oil on deep sea corals. They noticed a particular type of brittle sea star, Asteroschema clavigerum, gathering on healthy portions of the octocoral Paramuricea biscaya. Scientists wondered if the brittle sea stars were avoiding damaged portions of the coral or if they were protecting them from contamination. They found that, in fact, the brittle sea stars are helping to protect corals from the impacts of oil by eating descending materials, including oil contaminants, so that they don’t accumulate on the corals’ branches.
Read the article A Brittle Star may be a Coral’s Best Friend to learn more about the mutually beneficial relationship of brittle stars and coral.
- Learn why and how scientists study these corals: Jewels of the Gulf: Deep-sea Coral Educational Video Series
- Get more scientific details: Study Suggests Brittle Stars Limited Deepwater Horizon Impacts on Deep Sea Corals
GoMRI and the Smithsonian have a partnership to enhance oil spill science content on the Ocean Portal website.
This research was made possible in part by a grant from BP/The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) to the Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf (ECOGIG).
The GoMRI is a 10-year independent research program established to study the effect, and the potential associated impact, of hydrocarbon releases on the environment and public health, as well as to develop improved spill mitigation, oil detection, characterization and remediation technologies. An independent and academic 20-member Research Board makes the funding and research direction decisions to ensure the intellectual quality, effectiveness and academic independence of the GoMRI research. All research data, findings and publications will be made publicly available. The program was established through a $500 million financial commitment from BP. For more information, visit http://gulfresearchinitiative.org/.
© Copyright 2010-2018 Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) – All Rights Reserved. Redistribution is encouraged with acknowledgement to the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI). Please credit images and/or videos as done in each article. Questions? Contact web-content editor Nilde “Maggie” Dannreuther, Northern Gulf Institute, Mississippi State University (maggied@ngi.msstate.edu).