Pathogen deadly to sea urchins in Eilat has now spread to the Indian Ocean

by Tel Aviv University
Jan. 28, 2025

An international team of researchers led by scientists from Tel Aviv University (TAU) has discovered that the pathogen responsible for the mass deaths of sea urchins along the Red Sea coast is the same one responsible for mass mortality events among sea urchins off the coast of Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean.

This finding raises fears that the pathogen could spread further, to the Pacific Ocean. The researchers warn that this is a highly aggressive global pandemic, and are now spearheading an international effort to track the disease and preserve sea urchins, which play a crucial role in the health of coral reefs.

The study, led by Dr. Omri Bronstein from the School of Zoology at TAU’s George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, was published on November 20, 2024, in the journal Ecology.

“This is a first-rate ecological disaster,” Dr. Bronstein says. “Sea urchins are vital to the health of coral reefs. They act as the ‘gardeners’ of the reef by feeding on algae, preventing it from overgrowing and suffocating the coral, which competes with algae for sunlight.

Keep reading: https://www.aftau.org/news_item/pathogen-deadly-to-sea-urchins-in-eilat-has-now-spread-to-the-indian-ocean/

Read the Ecology paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.4476