Sea Star Wasting Disease and how it Impacts BC’s Entire Ecosystem | Ocean Matters October Lecture

Tuesday, 23 October @ 7pm (Doors 6.30pm)

Since 2013, millions of sea stars have died along the west coast of North America.

These sea stars started showings bizarre symptoms. They developed skin lesions, which progressed to the sea stars losing their limbs, and finally causing the disintegration of the whole animal. This outbreak confused, and worried scientists, as sea stars are a ‘keystone species’. This means that a large loss in sea star numbers could cause a large change in their ecosystem as a whole.

Scientists are spending a lot of time figuring out what was causing these symptoms and how we can help fight this outbreak. They learnt that a virus is causing this disease, but they are still looking for exactly which virus it is.

In this talk, Dr. Alyssa Gehman will explore the current state of sea star wasting disease in British Columbia. She will discuss how the response to the disease changes along the coast, how the virus affects different sea star species and how this knowledge can help us fight this disease!

Price: Free, but register here to guarantee your seat
Accessibility: This event will be ASL signed and is wheel-chair accessible
Location: The Vancouver Aquarium
Livestreaming?: Yes!! On the Vancouver Aquarium YouTube Channel

For more information see ocean.org/oceanmatters

The Nautical Library: A Night of Ocean Autobiographies

Thursday, 11th October @ 6 – 9pm

Come for an evening of ocean optimism and knowledge exchange at the Vancouver Aquarium. This event will bring together talented and diverse storytellers to form a “library” of ocean knowledge and experience featuring members of the 2018 Ocean Bridge cohort, conservation community leaders and social change makers from across Canada, each with a unique story to tell of their time working towards a thriving ocean and community.

Throughout the evening, you can browse the “bookcovers” to find a person you would like to “borrow” for an enriching conversation about their experiences in environmental conservation or social change in Canada.

With over twenty storytellers and the Vancouver Aquarium as a backdrop, enjoy the boundless knowledge of the Human Library to experience some of what our amazing oceans have to teach us. This is a free event with food and drinks available for purchase.

Price: Free, but register here to guarantee your spot
Location: The Vancouver Aquarium

If you can’t make it, but would like to hear about future Ocean Wise events subscribe to our mailing list!!

If you have any questions please let me know.

Warm Regards,

Ruth

Ruth Sharpe, PhD
Manager of Public Programs

Ruth.Sharpe@ocean.org
D 604 659 3497