How You Can Help Track Sea Star Wasting Disease
A free evening talk with Colleen Hecker, PhD student at Florida Atlantic University. Monday, October 26th at 6:00 PM.
Event Details
Date: Monday, October 26, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Location: The Kyalami Divers Dive Shop
607 Northlake Blvd Suite A, North Palm Beach, FL 33408
This event is free. Seating is limited. Reserve your spot online or call the shop at (561) 844-2466.
This event will be livestreamed on YouTube.
About the Talk
Sea star wasting disease has been spreading through Florida's waters, and researchers are racing to understand it. Colleen Hecker is one of them.
Her talk covers what sea star wasting disease actually is, how it spreads, and what her research team at FAU is doing to track it using a combination of scientific diving, microbiology, population surveys, and citizen science. You will also learn exactly how you can help as a diver. Every sighting you report matters, and Colleen will show you how to put your bottom time to work for the research.
After the presentation, she will take questions from the room.
About Colleen Hecker
Colleen Hecker is a PhD student in Integrative Biology at Florida Atlantic University, where her research focuses on sea star wasting disease in Florida. She holds an A.A. from Palm Beach State College and both a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from FAU.
Originally from Long Island, she has called Florida home since 2014. Her path to sea stars started at Blue Heron Bridge during her master's research on octopus genetics. While diving those reefs, she kept encountering red cushion sea stars and became drawn to understanding what was happening to them. That curiosity turned into a PhD.
She combines microbiology, population surveys, scientific diving, and community engagement to study a disease that most divers have seen but few fully understand.
What to Expect
Colleen will walk you through the life of a sea star, the science behind the wasting disease, and the fieldwork her team does to track it. You will leave knowing what to look for on your next dive and how to log what you find in a way that actually contributes to the research.
After the talk, stick around to connect with other divers and conservationists in the room. Upcoming opportunities to keep going with this work include a photo workshop on November 1st with Grace Pempek and a Scientific Diver Specialty course with Ken Ward.
Reserve Your Spot
This event is free. Seating is limited. Book online or call the shop to hold your seat.
Call: (561) 844-2466
Event organized by The Kyalami Divers Dive Shop.
After the talk, keep the momentum going. On October 29th, Grace Pempek is hosting a hands-on underwater photography workshop at Blue Heron Bridge where Colleen will join the group to help identify sea stars and contribute your images directly to the research. Six spots only. Learn more and reserve your place at the link below.