Question

A species of these organisms that act as pests in one ecosystem are injected with bile salts using autonomous drones like RangerBot. A relaxin-like peptide hormone found in these organisms called “gonad-stimulating substance” makes them a useful model to study oocyte maturation. They aren’t deer, but two recent (10[1])studies have disproved the theory that the densovirus SSaDV caused a mysterious “wasting disease” in these organisms. The (-5[1])Triton Snail is one of the few natural predators capable of containing outbreaks of (10[1])a (10[1])corallivorous type of these animals in the genus (10[1])Acanthaster. Studying the (10[1])purple Pisaster genus of these animals in rocky intertidal ecosystems (10[2])led Robert Paine to coin the term “keystone species.” For 10 points, what echinoderms are named (-5[1])for having five arms? ■END■ (10[2])

ANSWER: starfish [or sea stars; accept Asteroidea; accept specific species like purple sea star or common sea star or crown-of-thorns sea star; accept Acanthaster planci until read; prompt on Asterozoa; prompt on echinodermata; reject “brittle stars”]
<Carnegie Mellon A, Biology>
= Average correct buzz position

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Summary

California2025-02-01Y3100%0%67%102.33
Florida2025-02-01Y3100%0%0%101.00
Midwest2025-02-01Y6100%0%50%110.17
Overflow2025-02-01Y5100%0%40%105.20
Pacific Northwest2025-02-01Y2100%0%50%112.50
South Central2025-02-01Y2100%0%0%116.00
Southeast2025-02-01Y3100%0%33%112.67
UK2025-02-01Y1090%0%20%92.33

Buzzes

PlayerTeamOpponentBuzz PositionValue
Agnijo BanerjeeCambridge ACambridge C4710
Fahim AfzalCambridge DImperial B65-5
Chris LevesleyWarwick ASouthampton B7910
Joel CrossleyManchesterImperial A8010
Freddy PottsSheffieldOxford C8810
Arya KarthikOxford ALSE9110
Adam IqbalDurhamCambridge E10110
Tobin PayneWarwick BSouthampton A10110
Ben LaFondCambridge BBristol117-5
James ByrneBristolCambridge B12210
Eugenia TongImperial BCambridge D12210
Jacob Hardin-BernhardtNYU COxford B1260
Elliot CosnettOxford BNYU C1260