REEF SYSTEMS >>> Chocolate Chip Sea Star 

 

Don’t be fooled by the sweet name of the Protoreaster nodosus. Those dark spikes aren’t just decoration—they’re a clever form of self-defense. No weapons, no aggression. Just a quiet presence on the sandy and grassy reef, making itself look unappetizing to predators.

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Found across the shallow beds of the Indo-Pacific, this sea star lives low to the ground, feeding on microbial films, algae, and decaying seagrass. It helps clean up the reef—slowly, steadily, without harming a thing. At the Pink Turtle, a colony of 8–9 sea stars has been observed moving across the seagrass beds, spaced evenly like slow walkers on patrol. Together, they form a quiet constellation—each one working its way through the microalgae, recycling nutrients and keeping the system in balance.

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But despite its low-impact role in the ecosystem, the chocolate chip sea star is under growing pressure. Collected in large numbers for the souvenir trade, it’s being removed from its habitat faster than it can recover. Populations are shrinking in areas where it was once common.