Students Discover Sunflower Sea Stars Keep Kelp-Hungry Urchins at Bay

Students discover sunflower sea stars keep kelp-hungry urchins at bay

Sea urchins have no brains or hearts. But put them in the proximity of the unmistakable sunflower sea star, and somewhere in their pin cushion-like body, they sense trouble. That's the main finding of a new study by ecologists and undergraduates at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who wanted to see if this particular type of sea star would deter urchins from eating kelp.

Saving Santa Barbara’s kelp forests by ranching purple urchins

How a Californian aquaculture business decided to diversify their farm in a bid to help conserve local kelp forests.