Purple Sea Star: Exploring Keystone Species: HHMI BioInteractive
The purple sea star was one of the first keystone species identified by scientists. It is a top predator that keeps the number of species in tide pools relatively stable.
Pisaster ochraceus - Wikipedia
Pisaster ochraceus, generally known as the purple sea star, ochre sea star, or ochre starfish, is a common seastar found among the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Identified as a keystone species, P. ochraceus is considered an important indicator for the health of the intertidal zone. [2]
Pisaster | MARINe - UCSC
2023年3月31日 · Pisaster ochraceus sea stars have long been referred to as keystone species in the rocky intertidal (Paine 1966, Menge 2004) and, while they are known to have a wide diet (including barnacles, snails, limpets, and chitons), mussels are their primary prey items on the open coast (Morris et al. 1980, Harley et al 2006).
Ochre Sea Star - University of Puget Sound
The species has been called a “keystone species,” as its presence or absence significantly affects the entire community in the intertidal zone. Ochre Sea Stars are voracious predators on smaller animals, and among the very abundant animals on which they feed are mussels.
Role of Keystone Species in an Ecosystem - Education
2024年10月30日 · Pisaster ochraceus, commonly known as purple sea stars, are a major predator of mussels and barnacles on Tatoosh Island. With the sea stars gone, mussels took over the area and crowded out other species, including benthic algae that supported communities of sea snails, limpets, and bivalves .
Ecologists Struggle to Get a Grip on ‘Keystone Species’
2024年4月24日 · He’s found that Paine’s iconic purple star isn’t a keystone species everywhere. It has stronger keystone-ness in some places, for example in tide pools more intensely beaten by waves. “In fact, in more sheltered places, the sea star …
Pisaster ochraceus - ADW
keystone species. a species whose presence or absence strongly affects populations of other species in that area such that the extirpation of the keystone species in an area will result in the ultimate extirpation of many more species in that area (Example: sea otter).
Keystone species, facts and photos - National Geographic
2020年5月19日 · The first keystone species ever identified was the predatory purple sea star (Pisaster ochraceus), found along the rocky coasts of Makah Bay in Washington State. In 1963, Paine noticed...
Robert Treat Paine (1933–2016) - Nature
2016年7月20日 · Robert Treat Paine changed the field's course with a simple experiment. He removed ochre starfish (Pisaster ochraceus) from a seashore in Washington state, revealing that a single predator could...
Role of Keystone Species in an Ecosystem - Education
2024年10月30日 · He found that the purple sea star had a huge effect on the ecosystem along the shore. These sea stars are a major predator of mussels and barnacles on Tatoosh Island. With the sea stars gone, mussels took over the area. The mussels crowded out other species, including a special algae that sea snails and bivalves ate.