Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
  • BCO-DMO Processing Description
  • Problem Description
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Project Information
• Funding

Tissues from 43 specimens of Pycnopodia helianthoides (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:240764) were collected using SCUBA (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) from reference sites in British Columbia and Washington, and a recruit from Northern California. Specimens were collected between March 2022 and April 2025.

Specimens were located visually during recreational and/or scientific dives and during intertidal research or surveys conducted for other purposes. Tissues (tube feet or arm tips) were collected as incidental products of those dives and research. Tissues were sampled 1) subtidally by clipping tissue using clamps or scissors into a plastic bag while underwater, and then preserved in RNAlater or 100% EtOH when at the surface, or 2) intertidally by clipping tissue using scissors directly into a 2 ml vial of RNAlater or 100% EtOH. RNAlater samples were refrigerated overnight then placed in a -20C freezer. EtOH samples were placed in a -20C freezer. 

Data were usually recorded in the field on water proof paper or dive slates and transferred to an excel spreadsheet by field collectors.

- Imported "SampleList4Upload.xlsx" into the BCO-DMO system
- Converted "DateCollected (DD/Mmm/YYYY)" to ISO date format in "DateCollected_ISO"
- Replaced spaces with underscores and removed special characters from the parameter names in keeping with BCO-DMO guidelines
- Replaced non-standard characters in "Baker’s Beach, Trinidad" with "Baker's Beach, Trinidad"
- Exported file as "986632_v1_sunflower_star_sample_list.csv"

All scientific names referenced were checked in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) Taxon Match. All scientific names referenced are valid and accepted names as of 2025-11-12.

Pycnopodia helianthoides (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:240764)

NSF Award Abstract:
Many marine species are known for their large population sizes and high dispersal potential due to the time their larval offspring spend in the open ocean before settling into the adult habitat. Despite these characteristics, that often buffer against decimation, the sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) suffered major declines between 2013 and 2020 due to a disease outbreak and warming events, which led to listing by the IUCN as Critically Endangered. The sunflower star helps maintain ecological balance in kelp forest ecosystems; its absence across large swaths of its range has led to concerns for the future of the ecosystem. This loss has highlighted the need to better understand dispersal and recovery dynamics in this ecologically important species in a time when global change stressors are intensifying. The widespread loss of Pycnopodia — combined with recent sightings of new juveniles in the range where it’s been lost — created an opportunity to answer questions about the genetic relatedness among new colonists, source populations of colonists, patterns of gene expression, and associations with environmental factors, and their implications for the future of the species. The investigators are collaborating with a diverse team of partners already surveying the coast, to collect genetic information from new colonists. The research proposed here has direct and consequential impacts on conservation actions for Pycnopodia through ongoing collaborations with the Nature Conservancy and fills an important gap for future conservation decisions aimed at restoring this important member of the kelp forest ecosystem to its historical range. As more species come under threat from rapidly intensifying global change, understanding recovery dynamics is an important and necessary step in instigating conservation actions. The investigator is developing a teaching lesson for a nearby community college and an undergraduate student will be trained.

Massive demographic declines associated with anthropogenically-induced stressors have increased in recent years, raising questions about species’ ability to recover. The ecologically important sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) has suffered a precipitous (88–100%) decline since 2013 due to sea star wasting (SSW) disease and warming. The widespread loss of Pycnopodia provides a backdrop against which recent sightings of new juveniles in the extirpated range offer an opportunity to examine the contributions of four processes — (1) sweepstakes reproductive success, (2) cohesive dispersal, (3) larval cloning, and (4) allele surfing — to the evolutionary trajectory of populations following mass mortality. Additionally, identifying propagules’ source populations, evaluating gene expression profiles, and analyzing genotype–environment associations of colonists can help elucidate potential colonization pathways that favor recovery or signal ongoing threats. The investigators are soliciting new opportunistic collections of Pycnopodia from many partners and are responding to any observation in California and Oregon to acquire the samples and generate the whole genome resequencing data needed to test hypotheses segregating the aforementioned processes. As more species come under threat from rapidly intensifying global change, understanding recovery dynamics is critical to understanding population dynamics in the marine benthic environment.