Sanderling and Polar Sea Star

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The Sanderling (Calidris alba) is a small wading sea bird that lives on the Canadian and American coasts. These small birds breed in the high arctic, but migrate down to warmer coasts during the winter. Although the beak is not represented accurately above, Sanderlings use their relatively long beaks to fish buried invertebrates out of the sand for food. The Polar Sea Star (Leptasterias polaris) is a six armed sea star the lives in the cold waters of the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Small and compact, this starfish is covered with blunt spiny plates and is usually brown or reddish in colour. The Polar Sea Star is a predator, feeding on bivalves such as the common blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). The adult sea stars can even feed on large gastropods such as the common whelk (Buccinum undatum). Both these creatures represent important parts of Canada’s coastal food webs and biodiversity.