The Stream Connecting Sunflower Star Recovery and Salish Sea Resilience
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Once a common sight along the Pacific Coast, sunflower sea stars have been pushed to the brink by sea star wasting disease – triggering cascading impacts on kelp forests as unchecked purple urchins move in.
In 2019, the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL) pioneered the first ever restoration breeding program for the endangered sunflower star, Pycnopodia helianthoides. Populations of this once common top predator plummeted in the Salish Sea and across its range starting in 2013 in response to an unprecedented outbreak of seastar washing disease. The results were especially severe in California, where sunflower star declines coincided with a marine heatwave that stressed foundational bull kelp and advantaged sea urchins that eat kelp. In the absence of the predatory stars, urchin populations exploded, and healthy kelp forests turned into urchin barrens.
In this presentation, Dr. Jason Hodin, Senior Research Scientist at FHL, will give an overview of his seastar lab's efforts over the past 7 years from working out the secrets to full-life cycle culture of this enormous predator, to rewilding the lab reared stars into a developing urchin barren on San Juan Island. Hodin will highlight how local actions like protecting and restoring stream and river health is integral to sunflower star recovery and hence a resilient Salish Sea.
The Stream Connecting Sunflower Star Recovery and Salish Sea Resilience
Saturday August 1st, 2026
1-2:30PM
At the Northwest Stream Center
in Snohomish County's McCollum Park
600 128th St SE,
Everett, WA 98208
$10 general admission, $8 AASF Members
All proceeds benefit the Adopt A Stream Foundation's mission: to teach people to become stewards of their watersheds. These proceeds benefit environmental education and habitat restoration.
Preregistration is recommended, tickets will be sold at the door if still available. Register online at www.streamkeeper.org, by calling 425-316-8592, or by visiting the Nature Store at the Northwest Stream Center.
About the Presenter:
Jason Hodin is fascinated with metamorphosis, leading him to move from studying insects for his PhD to echinoderms afterwords. His years of effort carefully raising echinoderms like sea urchins and sea stars through metamorphosis led him to be tapped by the Nature Conservancy of California to attempt restoration breeding of the sunflower star. He has assembled a team of mainly post-Bac research assistants that raises yearly cohorts of seastars and explores basic life history questions, outplanting approaches, individual photo-based reidentification, among other topics. Hodin is a Senior Research Scientist based at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Labs.
Photo Credit: Dennis Wise/UW Media
In 2019, the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL) pioneered the first ever restoration breeding program for the endangered sunflower star, Pycnopodia helianthoides. Populations of this once common top predator plummeted in the Salish Sea and across its range starting in 2013 in response to an unprecedented outbreak of seastar washing disease. The results were especially severe in California, where sunflower star declines coincided with a marine heatwave that stressed foundational bull kelp and advantaged sea urchins that eat kelp. In the absence of the predatory stars, urchin populations exploded, and healthy kelp forests turned into urchin barrens.
In this presentation, Dr. Jason Hodin, Senior Research Scientist at FHL, will give an overview of his seastar lab's efforts over the past 7 years from working out the secrets to full-life cycle culture of this enormous predator, to rewilding the lab reared stars into a developing urchin barren on San Juan Island. Hodin will highlight how local actions like protecting and restoring stream and river health is integral to sunflower star recovery and hence a resilient Salish Sea.
The Stream Connecting Sunflower Star Recovery and Salish Sea Resilience
Saturday August 1st, 2026
1-2:30PM
At the Northwest Stream Center
in Snohomish County's McCollum Park
600 128th St SE,
Everett, WA 98208
$10 general admission, $8 AASF Members
All proceeds benefit the Adopt A Stream Foundation's mission: to teach people to become stewards of their watersheds. These proceeds benefit environmental education and habitat restoration.
Preregistration is recommended, tickets will be sold at the door if still available. Register online at www.streamkeeper.org, by calling 425-316-8592, or by visiting the Nature Store at the Northwest Stream Center.
About the Presenter:
Jason Hodin is fascinated with metamorphosis, leading him to move from studying insects for his PhD to echinoderms afterwords. His years of effort carefully raising echinoderms like sea urchins and sea stars through metamorphosis led him to be tapped by the Nature Conservancy of California to attempt restoration breeding of the sunflower star. He has assembled a team of mainly post-Bac research assistants that raises yearly cohorts of seastars and explores basic life history questions, outplanting approaches, individual photo-based reidentification, among other topics. Hodin is a Senior Research Scientist based at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Labs.
Photo Credit: Dennis Wise/UW Media
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Where is it happening?
600 128th St SE, Everett, WA, United States, Washington 98208
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherAdopt A Stream Foundation
