# @centerforbiodiv on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DagCOI-n_Sx
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/67666816-centerforbiodiv-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/1f300381c3.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-07-07T17:46:10.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Center for Biological Diversity (@CenterForBioDiv) — https://gondola.cc/CenterForBioDiv

## Caption

Sunflower sea stars are funky-looking creatures: They have up to 24 arms, can be more than 3 feet wide, and come in a variety of bright colors. 

Looks aside, they’re also voracious predators whose consumption of sea urchins helps prevent the overgrazing of kelp forests, maintaining coastal ecosystems. 

What's not to love?

Once abundant along the West Coast, their population has tragically plummeted by a whopping 90% since 2013 due to a gruesome marine epidemic called sea star wasting disease.

The disease outbreak is driven by climate change, with warmer oceans making the effects more severe and deadly. 

We're urgently working to protect these unique sea stars before it's too late, so we sued the Trump administration over the National Marine Fisheries Service’s failure to protect them under the Endangered Species Act. 

Protection under the Act will help reduce threats to the sea star’s habitat from water pollution, dredging, shoreline armoring and other coastal development projects that might push the species toward extinction. It will also provide the species with a recovery plan.

[Image description: A bright orange sunflower sea star is underwater, surrounded by various textures on a rocky surface. Text overlay reads, "Lawsuit filed to save sunflower sea stars from extinction."]

#SunflowerSeaStar #SeaStars #ClimateChange #MarineConservation #MarineAnimals #WildlifeConservation

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 428
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 13

## Tags

climatechange, sunflowerseastar, seastars, wildlifeconservation, marineconservation, marineanimals

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