New research indicates a better way to raise long-spined sea urchins for repopulating coral reef ecosystems.
Pollution, disease, over-harvesting, and other factors severely threaten these ecosystems. For thousands of years, long-spined sea urchins helped keep reefs intact. They eat seaweed, which can kill or seriously damage coral. Without coral, reefs suffer severe consequences, including diminished ability to support fish.
In the mid-1980s, more than 90% of the urchins that crawled the coral reefs in the western Atlantic and Caribbean died for reasons scientists have yet to determine. The population of the long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum) has been slow to recover on its own. That’s why scientists, including Josh Patterson, are stepping up their efforts to enhance urchin populations.
How to raise little 'lawn mower' urchins for coral reefs - Futurity
Pollution, disease, over-harvesting, and other factors severely threaten these ecosystems. For thousands of years, long-spined sea urchins helped keep reefs intact. They eat seaweed, which can kill or seriously damage coral. Without coral, reefs suffer severe consequences, including diminished ability to support fish.
In the mid-1980s, more than 90% of the urchins that crawled the coral reefs in the western Atlantic and Caribbean died for reasons scientists have yet to determine. The population of the long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum) has been slow to recover on its own. That’s why scientists, including Josh Patterson, are stepping up their efforts to enhance urchin populations.
How to raise little 'lawn mower' urchins for coral reefs - Futurity