In a study led by Cornell microbiology professor Ian Hewson, scientists have discovered that a parasite is behind a severe die-off of long-spined sea urchins across the Caribbean Sea, which has had devastating consequences for coral reefs and surrounding marine ecosystems.
In the warm waters of the Caribbean, long-spined sea urchins inky black creatures resembling pincushions stuck with knitting needles gobble up algae with their claw-like mouths. But when the sea urchins aren’t around, this algae will smother coral reefs, eventually causing the corals to die. That’s what happened in the early 1980s. A […]
Scientists have discovered that a parasite is behind a severe die-off of long-spined sea urchins across the Caribbean Sea, which has had devastating consequences for coral reefs and surrounding marine ecosystems.
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