A Miraculous Recovery After Being Declared Extinct

About ten years ago, scientists had declared the sunflower sea star extinct, killed by a disease. The disappearance of the once abundant creature caused an increase of sea urchins, the natural prey of sunflower sea stars. The sea urchins, unchecked, swarmed over the kelp forests and slowly the kelp forests began to disappear too. Not only do the kelp forests provide food for the sea urchins, they also provide shelter for many other sea animals like otters, fish, and leopard sharks (Monterey Bay Aquarium).

In August 2025, scientists searched for the sunflower sea stars in hopes that they could save the kelp forest before the sea urchins ate it all. Much to their surprise, they found it on the coasts of Sonoma County, California. Now, because the sunflower sea stars have been found, scientists have started breeding them and their population is slowly increasing.

What caused the decline of the sunflower sea stars in the first place? Scientists found the answer to this question is SSWD (Sea Star Wasting Disease). In 2013, this disease had killed “an estimated 6 billion sunflower sea stars – nearly 95% of the global population” (Ocean Protection Council). In turn, there was a 96% decrease of kelp canopies across California’s North Coast. As the scientists restore the sunflower sea stars to the ecosystem, they are also restoring the ecological balance in the kelp forest.