1 year ago, the first successful Sunflower Star spawning event under human care happened in California. Coincidentally, it happened to be Valentines Day, giving these stars the moniker of “Cupid Cohort.” On 12/14/24, all the stars aligned, including multiple institutions, a cryopreservation team, the stars themselves, and a group of experts hoping to take one of the first steps towards restoring the sunflower star to California.

Sunflower Star Laboratory has accomplished a lot in 2024. Between moving to a new dedicated space in Moss Landing, the first spawning of Sunflower Stars in California under human care, new grants and partnerships, and new staff and board members, we dramatically scaled to meet the needs of sunflower star and kelp forest restoration.

Cannibalism may exert selective pressure on the development of larval traits that helps sunflower stars avoid being eaten by conspecifics. For example, larvae might develop behavioral adaptations, such as timing their development to avoid peak predation periods or dispersing to areas where cannibalism pressure is lower”. “Additionally, the timing and location of spawning events may evolve in response to cannibalism risks, with species adapting to release their gametes under conditions that minimize the chances of conspecific predation.

On February 14th, Monterey-based conservation aquaculture non-profit Sunflower Star Laboratory joined with partners at Aquarium of the Pacific, Birch Aquarium at Scripps, California Academy of Sciences, and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) to successfully spawn and cross-fertilize gametes from sunflower sea stars, marking a monumental advancement in the collective endeavor to bolster the population and genetic diversity of Sunflower Stars in accredited zoos, aquariums, and research institutions.

Sunflower Star Lab’s online store is live!