00:00Starfish are beautiful and elegant creatures that are one of our ocean's prized animals.
00:07But now, many species are simply turning to dust before our very eyes, and scientists
00:12finally think they know why.
00:14According to new research published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, there are
00:17bacteria in the oceans that thrive in warmer waters.
00:20The bacteria live extremely close to the skin of starfish, but kill without touching them.
00:25Instead, the bacteria suck up and deplete the oxygen all around the sea stars, causing
00:29decaying tissue and limb loss, more or less turning them into goo.
00:33It's called sea star wasting disease, and it's responsible for the death of large numbers
00:38of the creatures over the years.
00:39And what's worse?
00:40Dying starfish give off more organic matter, which spurs more bacterial growth, something
00:45experts say is, quote, a new kind of idea for disease transmission, and a problem that
00:49will likely get worse as the planet gets warmer and the oceans continue to heat up.
