Today was a nice day. We visited Gardner Bay on Española Island where we indulged in our snorkeling activities. Some of us even experienced the glass-bottom boat! During this activity, we had the opportunity to see lots of different and colorful tropical fish, sea urchins and huge sea stars attached to the bottom of the ocean.
Sea stars are the prima donnas of echinoderms, familiar to many people as beautiful symmetrical symbols of marine life. In Galapagos, however, sea stars (often called starfish) are very common.
Like all echinoderms, they are strictly bottom dwellers. Despite their striking coloration and large size that make them conspicuous on the sea bottom, they seem to have few enemies, suggesting that sea stars produce something that repels would-be predators.
They are diverse feeders. Some sea stars are particle feeders but most are predators of sedentary or sessile prey since sea stars are themselves slow-moving animals. Carnivorous forms prey on mollusks (their favorite food), crabs, corals, worms, or other echinoderms; other are scavengers that feed on decaying fish and invertebrates. Still others are deposit feeders, filling stomachs with mud from which they extract organic material.
