August 3, 2020: Sea Star
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific MPAs. Download larger version (jpg, 376 KB).
This sea star was seen during the Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific Marine Protected Areas expedition hanging on the branches of a bamboo coral. These sea stars are known predators of coral and from this great view of the underside of the sea star, it is possible to see that the tissue of the coral has indeed been stripped away.
Learn more about sea stars and how they eat in this “Sea Stars” mission log.