ANTARCTIC starfish find meals by smelling their neighbours to see whether
they are starving or well-fed, according to a marine biologist in Poland.
Anna Kidawa of the Polish Antarctic Service in Warsaw squirted Odontaster
validus starfish with water from tanks containing either starved or well-fed
starfish. The animals did not react to odour from starved starfish, but waved
their tube feet and moved about when exposed to water from well-fed animals.
鈥淚f starfish smell a well-fed individual, they 鈥榢now鈥� there is food nearby,鈥�
she says.
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Their response to food odour alone was different, says Kidawa, suggesting the
animals can distinguish between food and well-fed starfish (Polar Biology, vol
24, p 408).