Researchers from the University of Florida and Florida Aquarium are unleashing black spined sea urchins in the fight to save Florida’s corals.

Last summer, the team successfully bred 100 urchins in a lab for the first time. Scientists have bred urchins in a lab before, but never quite so many. Once this effort is replicated, the team can begin restocking reefs with baby urchins. The effort is part of a $97 million effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called, “Mission: Iconic Reefs.” 

Why sea urchins? 

Florida’s 40% decline in coral reefs over the past 50 years can be attributed to many factors:

  • Warming ocean temperatures and ocean acidification
  • Stony coral tissue disease
  • Hurricanes
  • Pollution
  • Overfishing

But scientists believe that massive sea urchin die-offs are also to blame for reef decline. This is because urchins eat algae that if left unchecked, can smother the reefs. 

In the 1980s, a disease wiped out about 97% of sea urchins in the Caribbean. The urchins have failed to bounce back ever since.  

The researchers hope that restocking reefs with baby sea urchins will help increase urchin numbers and mitigate the overgrowth of algae.  

Why it matters.  

Coral reefs provide habitats to many marine organisms, protect coastlines from damaging storms, provide nitrogen and other nutrients to the marine food web and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  

In the U.S., about half of all federally managed fisheries depend on coral reefs. Reefs also provide economic goods and services worth about $375 billion each year. In southeast Florida, reefs generate $4.4 billion in local sales, $2 billion in local income, and 70,400 full and part-time jobs. Reef-based recreational fisheries generate over $100 million annually in the United States. 

What’s next? 

The research team’s next task is to figure out how to deliver the baby urchins to the reefs. To do so, they must determine the best age and timing so that they can reproduce by the millions.  

Where can I learn more?

 

Featured image: NOAA photo