We thought all the star fish were the same kind until we saw this one on Monday morning:
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| Luidia alternata? |
We don't know what happened but have some theories - maybe the oil spill? perhaps the unusually cold weather (December was the coldest December in our area ever)? maybe a big storm (though we have not had any lately)? Thoughts?
This article from December says it's the cold weather -- http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/12/23/2711228/thousands-of-dead-starfish-wash.html
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Gulf has been that cold. It's currently 51. Researching now.
ReplyDeletea good place to track Gulf Water temperatures http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/buoy/2011/1/9/APCF1.html?graphtype=2 (this is from the Apalachicola buoy, so pretty near where we were)
ReplyDeleteThanks, snaphappy, for the link and theory - think you're right on the money.
ReplyDeleteSee my follow up post at http://365thruamyseyes.blogspot.com/2011/01/theory-about-starfish.html