Rising star: University researcher achieves firsts in sea star research

Author: Kanaga Rajan
July 9, 2024
juvenile six rayed sea stars
Photo Credit: Berenice Baca

With faculty support, a student expands class project into a graduate research project.

It’s not often that one gets to throw starfish a birthday party. Some species — like the six-rayed sea star Leptasterias — are notoriously difficult to keep alive in the lab, making even first birthdays a rarity. So when San Francisco State University researcher Berenice Baca achieved the seemingly impossible feat of raising Leptasterias specimens for an entire year, her lab made sure to celebrate.

Read the SF State News story.