Since 2013, more than 5 billion sea stars have perished from “sea star wasting,” a mysterious disease that has devastated the iconic sunflower sea star and triggered cascading ecosystem impacts. With sunflower stars gone, purple sea urchins—unchecked grazers of kelp—exploded in number, leading to 90% declines in kelp forests, a critical temperate-zone habitat. At the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs, Dr. Drew Harvell’s team has led groundbreaking research to uncover the cause of sea star wasting, work highlighted in The New York Times, while Dr. Jason Hodin’s team has successfully reared hundreds of sunflower stars in captivity, efforts featured on NBC’s Wild Kingdom. Together, they raise vital questions: what resources and talent are needed to sustain such research, what is the cost to our marine ecosystems if it falters, and what happens when funding is cut or international collaboration is blocked?

Reception to follow. Free and open to the public.