School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK.
Department of Microbiology, Cornell University, Wing Hall 403, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
Biol Lett. 2022 Jul;18(7):20220197. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0197. Epub 2022 Jul 27.
Sea star wasting disease (SSWD) refers to a suite of gross pathological signs observed in Asteroidea species. It presents to varying degrees as abnormal posture, epidermal ulceration, arm autotomy and eversion of viscera. We report observations of SSWD in the sunstar the first observations of its kind in Europe. While the exact cause of SSWD remains unknown, studies have proposed pathogenic and environmental-stress pathways for disease outbreaks. Although the present observations do not support a precise aetiology, the presence of SSWD in a keystone predator may have wide reaching ecological and management implications.
海星萎缩症(SSWD)是指海星纲物种中观察到的一系列明显的大体病理迹象。它表现为不同程度的异常姿势、表皮溃疡、腕足自切和内脏外翻。我们报告了在欧洲首次观察到的海星萎缩症病例。尽管 SSWD 的确切病因尚不清楚,但研究已经提出了疾病爆发的致病和环境应激途径。虽然目前的观察结果并不支持确切的病因,但作为关键捕食者的 SSWD 的存在可能具有广泛的生态和管理意义。