2026/01/19 by Stella A. Hein, Ian Hewson · 1 voice
Environmental Science · #Parasite Biology and Host Interactions #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
paper · doi:10.3354/meps15100
openalex publication_date 2026/01/19 · openalex created_date 2026/01/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Echinoids contribute to herbivory on coral reefs. The loss of Diadema antillarum from 1983-1984 contributed to a persistent phase shift from coral- to algal-dominated benthos in the Caribbean. A recent mass mortality affected this species again in 2022 and has since been reported in the eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, and Réunion. In 2013, dense (12 ind. m -2 ) populations of the sea urchin D. savignyi in the lagoons of Mo’orea, French Polynesia, experienced mass mortality, resulting in a ~97% population decline (to <0.05 ind. m -2 ) that persisted 2.5 yr later. Gross signs of abnormal urchins (e.g. spine loss, loss of tube feet control) were mostly consistent with those in Diadematidae urchins in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Unfortunately, no specimens compatible with molecular or microscopic approaches from this mass mortality event exist. However, records of this event reinforce that mass mortalities occur across a wider diversity of Diadematidae species and geographic range than reported in more prominent mass mortality events.