how many times have we seen Photos or videos of people showing us a starfish they just pulled out of the water on social networks? A morbid obsession with acclaim and a lack of knowledge makes for these creatures such a seemingly innocent gesture as a death sentence.
The so-called ‘starfish’ are animals of the class Asteroidea, belonging to the echinoderm family. It is a class consisting of about 1,800 species scattered across all oceans of the world.
It has a central part and five arms (although there are types that can have more limbs). Its surface may be smooth, granular, or prickly, and some species can even regrow damaged or missing arms.
Thanks to the filter system at the bottom, they feed on microorganisms, but they can also eat sea sponges.
They move thanks to the small legs on their arms and they cling to the surfaces thanks to the suction cups on these legs.
These lovely organisms pumping water directly into their bodies through an aquiferous vascular system. It’s the fact that they very vulnerable to any kind of contamination because their capacity to filter toxins and other pollutants is very low.
They die within a few minutes.
Another threat is spreading mass tourism It’s taking over their habitat. In shallow and very transparent waters, where swimmers can easily find starfish, these animals they die for something as simple as removing them from the marine environment for a few minutes.
When a tourist, often unaware of what he’s doing, picks up a starfish from the water and poses with it and snaps a picture of it, what he gets is the animal’s stop exchanging gas for breathing and die in a few minutes. So, they end up drowning.
Just touching them puts starfish under intense stress. this sometimes prevents them from returning to their habitat. Although it may be hard to believe, there are species of animals that can be touched and killed by humans.
If we add to this that the waters of the beaches, which are frequented by tourism, generally contain a significant amount of minerals; sunscreens, sunscreens, insect repellents, and other harmful chemicals For marine species, it’s easy to see why we need to be more cautious in our dealings with wildlife.
Starfish should not be touched or removed from the water, even for a short time. The next most likely outcome from this gesture could be your death.
So any photo shared on social networks that gets these echinoderms out of the water should be rejectedand record it so that those who see these images stop imitating such a harmful performance.
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Contact address of the environment department: crizclimatica@prensaiberica.es
Source: Informacion
James Sean is a writer for “Social Bites”. He covers a wide range of topics, bringing the latest news and developments to his readers. With a keen sense of what’s important and a passion for writing, James delivers unique and insightful articles that keep his readers informed and engaged.