专家日前表示，在加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省阳光海岸海星大批死亡的原因可能是一种非本地的寄生虫所致。

Hundreds of starfish have been found dead on a beach on British Columbias Sunshine Coast, and a scientist says a nonnative parasite is likely to blame.

上个星期，在温哥华北部锡谢尔特的特雷尔海湾（Trail Bay），紫海星的尸体就开始不断地被冲上岸来。

Purple sea stars began washing up last week in Trail Bay at Sechelt, north of Vancouver.

加拿大伯纳比市西蒙·弗雷泽大学的海洋寄生虫研究专家布鲁斯·莱顿日前表示，这些海星相继死亡的现象正好发生在它们生殖周期的顶峰时段。在这一段时间内，海星最容易受到一种名为Orchitophrya stellarum的原生动物的攻击。这种原生动物会以吃海星的精液为生。

Bruce Leighton, a marine parasite expert at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, noted Wednesday that the die-off coincided with the peak of the starfish reproductive cycle, when the creatures are most vulnerable to Orchitophrya stellarum, a protozoan that feeds on sea stars sperm.

莱顿说，这种寄生虫据信对北温哥华印第安湾紫海星的消失殆尽负有责任，它还使不列颠哥伦比亚省其他一些地区雄性海星的数量大量减少。这一物种间的平衡已受到了破坏。

He said the parasite is believed responsible for wiping out purple sea stars in North Vancouvers Indian Arm and eliminating much of the male population of the species in other areas of British Columbia, altering the balance of species.

报道说，这种寄生虫的老家位于大西洋，但现在人们在不列颠哥伦比亚和华盛顿州的海岸都可以发现它们的踪影。

The parasite is native to the Atlantic but is now found along the British Columbia and Washington state coast.