The particular species of sea urchin affected is a known protector of coral reefs and the deaths put the already fragile reef ecosystem at even greater risk
A marine pandemic that has wiped out sea urchin populations in the Red Sea is expanding to affect the species in parts of the Indian Ocean and threatens to go global, scientists in Israel say.
The particular species of sea urchin affected is a known protector of coral reefs, and the deaths put the already fragile reef ecosystem at even greater risk.
The pandemic was first observed a year ago in the Gulf of Aqaba, and researchers say they have since identified the pathogen behind it through molecular analysis. It has been linked to mass deaths across the Red Sea, the Arabian Peninsula and as far away as Reunion Island off Madagascar.
The pathogen kills quickly and violently—colonies perish in as little as two days—making it difficult to estimate how many sea urchins are dying, says Omri Bronstein, a zoologist at Tel Aviv University and the Steichhardt Museum of Natural History. It appears to be heading east towards the tropical waters of the Coral Triangle, which stretches off southeast Asia, and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
“I’m afraid that in the current situation that’s the way they’re going,” he says.
Their findings are published in the journal Current Biology.
Source: Skai
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