A diver collects a long-spined sea urchin. Credit: Blake Gardner
Our employee owners were recently part of a team of detectives on a mission to discover the killer of long-spined sea urchins, Diadema antillarumy, throughout the Caribbean Sea. The infected urchins lose their spines, leaving them more vulnerable to predation or dying after a few days. In 1983 the same species experienced mass mortality with identical symptoms, but scientists were unable to discover the culprit. Forty years later, the issue resurfaced, and a team of scientists joined forces to unlock the mystery.
CSS employee owners, supporting NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program and NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, joined a team of scientists in diving to collect urchin samples at 23 sites around the Caribbean Sea. By providing the samples, the researchers were then able to examine and test the urchins and compare them to healthy urchins to determine the cause of the mortality.
Due to this rapid response, scientists determined the cause of the issue within three months
Our staff coauthored this paper documenting the process. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adg3200
Researchers examine a long-spined sea urchin. Credit: Leslie Henderson
See More CSS Insights
Expanding our Waste Management Contract
We’ve recently expanded our waste management contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our staff now support CDC in Fort Collins, Colorado. As part of this project, our employee owners ensure hazardous waste from laboratories and florescent and halogen light bulbs is managed, stored, and disposed of properly. For over 13 years…
Organizing Teams to Monitor Coastal Contaminants
For nearly 40 years NOAA’s National Mussel Watch Program has been monitoring contaminants in coastal waters in over 400 sites around the U.S. by testing sediment and bivalves, such as oysters and mussels. A CSS employee owner organizes and coordinates the regional missions to collect and test samples. This includes developing a schedule and coordinating…
Presenting and Networking at Coastal Geotools 2023
The Coastal Geotools conference in Charleston, SC. enables our staff to learn new skills and approaches from their peers, and expand their networks within the geospatial community.