Sea Star Surveys!

Join the Discovery Passage Aquarium for monthly Sea Star Surveys on Willow Point Reef!

Our next sea star survey is coming up on Tuesday August 29th at 9:45 am. Let us know you are coming by signing up here: Survey Sign Up

The surveys consist of 5 sites on the Willow Point Reef. We primarily look for ochre stars, and record every individual within the site boundaries. Data collected includes the severity of sea star wasting disease (healthy, mild, or severe), and the size of the sea star, measured by the length of the longest arm. It is also heplful to note any other species of sea star with signs of wasting, or ochre stars outside of the site boundaries with severe wasting. 

We meet at Jaycee Park for a briefing in the parking lot, and head out to the reef as a group. We supply all surveying equipment, flashlights, and knee pads if needed. It is roughly a 5 minute walk from the parking lot to the first survey site, down a set of stairs and over large rocks and slippery terrain for a portion of it. For night time surveys, we recommend also bringing your own flashlight and/or headlamp. Even at very low tides, there is usually a pool of water we need to cross to access the sites - gumboots or water shoes are strongly recommended.