Scientists Learn What Killed Caribbean Sea Urchins
2023-04-22
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1Scientists say a small parasite is the cause of death of many sea urchins in the Caribbean Sea.
2Sea urchins are simple animals that have long spines.
3Last year, the long-spined sea urchins, also known as Diadema antillarum, started getting sick.
4They were losing their spines and their sticky feet were losing their grip on the coral reefs.
5The loss of so many sea urchins, which eat algae that grow on the corals, affected the undersea environment from the Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico to Florida.
6Mya Breitbart led a team of scientists who investigated the sickness.
7She is a marine microbiologist at the University of South Florida.
8The team presented their study recently in the scientific publication Science Advances.
9"The case is closed," Breitbart said.
10The scientists compared the sick urchins to healthy ones and determined a single-celled parasite was to blame.
11Ian Hewson is a marine disease researcher at Cornell University in the state of New York.
12He said the team ruled out bacteria or viruses.
13But the team did see single-celled organisms called ciliates in the sick urchins.
14The scientists then put a group of healthy sea urchins grown in a laboratory in a tank with some of the parasites.
15Six of the 10 urchins in the tank later died.
16The scientists are now working to find a way to prevent future losses.
17They do not have a treatment for the sea urchins, but they are hoping to learn how the parasites spread so they can stop them.
18Breitbart noted another time that many sea urchins died in the 1980s.
19She did not know if the same parasites caused that problem.
20Don Levitan is a marine scientist at Florida State University who was not involved in the study.
21He said the two urchin die-offs, or widespread losses of the animals, have changed the coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea.
22He said at one time, they were covered with spiny urchins, but now they are covered in algae, sick from disease and stressed by rising water temperatures.
23"Coral reefs in the Caribbean are in trouble," he said. "We are at a different place than we were 30, 40 years ago."
24I'm Dan Friedell.
1Scientists say a small parasite is the cause of death of many sea urchins in the Caribbean Sea. 2Sea urchins are simple animals that have long spines. 3Last year, the long-spined sea urchins, also known as Diadema antillarum, started getting sick. They were losing their spines and their sticky feet were losing their grip on the coral reefs. 4The loss of so many sea urchins, which eat algae that grow on the corals, affected the undersea environment from the Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico to Florida. 5Mya Breitbart led a team of scientists who investigated the sickness. She is a marine microbiologist at the University of South Florida. 6The team presented their study recently in the scientific publication Science Advances. 7"The case is closed," Breitbart said. 8The scientists compared the sick urchins to healthy ones and determined a single-celled parasite was to blame. 9Ian Hewson is a marine disease researcher at Cornell University in the state of New York. He said the team ruled out bacteria or viruses. But the team did see single-celled organisms called ciliates in the sick urchins. 10The scientists then put a group of healthy sea urchins grown in a laboratory in a tank with some of the parasites. Six of the 10 urchins in the tank later died. 11The scientists are now working to find a way to prevent future losses. They do not have a treatment for the sea urchins, but they are hoping to learn how the parasites spread so they can stop them. 12Breitbart noted another time that many sea urchins died in the 1980s. She did not know if the same parasites caused that problem. 13Don Levitan is a marine scientist at Florida State University who was not involved in the study. He said the two urchin die-offs, or widespread losses of the animals, have changed the coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea. He said at one time, they were covered with spiny urchins, but now they are covered in algae, sick from disease and stressed by rising water temperatures. 14"Coral reefs in the Caribbean are in trouble," he said. "We are at a different place than we were 30, 40 years ago." 15I'm Dan Friedell. 16Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 17________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19parasite -n. a plant or animal that lives by taking food or shelter from another living thing 20spine -n. a sharp, pointy part of an animal or plant 21sticky -adj. a quality of being easily stuck to 22marine -adj. related to the sea 23stressed -adj. feeling worried or tired; showing the effects of disease or difficulty 24________________________________________________________________ 25We want to hear from you. Do you think the scientists will be able to help the sea urchins? 26Here is how our comment system works: 27Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.