Israel: Red Sea epidemic kills off sea urchins, endangering coral reefs

Tel Aviv: A deadly epidemic that is spreading through the Red Sea has killed off an entire species of sea urchin in the Gulf of Aqaba, imperilling the region’s uniquely resilient coral reefs, an Israeli research team has found. The whole population of black sea urchins, a species known for helping keep coral reefs healthy in the waters also known as the Gulf of Eilat, was wiped out over a couple months, according to a team from Tel Aviv University. Their findings, published in two peer-reviewed journals, cite mass mortality in other countries in the region, including Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The probable culprit is a disease-causing ciliate parasite that brings with it a fast death - perhaps the same one that has wreaked havoc on sea urchin populations in the Caribbean. In just two days, a healthy Diadema setosum - a long-spined black sea urchin - becomes a skeleton with massive tissue loss, said lead researcher Omri Bronstein, from Tel Aviv University’s Steinhardt Museum ...