Counting stars

Another young starfish, looking healthy.

Mottled star, on stone at top of intertidal zone

In a couple of square meters of stones, I found a dozen of these baby mottled stars, from about an inch to two inches across. Two looked faded and limp, but all the rest were healthy and clinging strongly to their chosen stones. I didn't see any lesions, the first sign of disease, nor any twisted limbs.

I've found them, so far, at the deep end of the lower intertidal zone on the west side of Boundary Bay, and here, at the very top, where the tide reaches only part of each day. In between, not a starfish to be seen, though I walked back and forth across the whole length of the mid-tide zone looking for them.

I haven't seen any of our usual purple stars, neither adult nor juvenile. I hope the starfish wasting syndrome hasn't wiped them out completely.