A Theory about the Starfish

If you read my post on Tuesday (see it here), you know we were looking for reason(s) why there were so many starfish on the beach on St. George Island. According to this article (shared by Leslie, thank you!), it was likely due to the cold weather. "Thousands of dead starfish littered the beach" in South Carolina in late December after they experienced record severe weather. The article went on to say

marine life can die off in mass kills when water temperatures hover in the mid-40s for any length of time.

We had the coldest December on record in the Tallahassee area but it wasn't until early January that the coastal water in the Gulf of Mexico dropped below 50. As you can see in this graph, late last week the water temp fell to 46 for a full day followed by several hours at 45 before rebounding.

Gulf water temps off the coast of Apalachicola
the week of Jan 9th, from wunderground.com

The good news (presuming the situation here is similar to the one in South Carolina): 

Bell said the starfish die-offs probably aren't frequent or widespread enough to do any serious damage to the overall population. He said nearby populations would quickly move in and that the animals reproduce rapidly.

Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/12/23/2711228/thousands-of-dead-starfish-wash.html#ixzz1BX4sLISz

 What do you think? Does it sound like a reasonable theory?