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
New Contract. Same Great Work.
We’re pleased to announce a new small business joint venture with Paul Bechtel & Associates (PB&A), which was awarded a 5-year contract to continue supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs. For 40 years our staff have supported EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs in the review and evaluation of pesticide data.…
1000 Samples of Lake Water Collected and Processed
Congrats to our team supporting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development for completing the processing and initial chemical analyses of 1000 lake water samples! They received lake water samples from across the continental U.S. this past summer and have completed the initial chemical analyses as part of the U.S. EPA 2022 National…
Major Overhaul and Update to an Existing Tool
Congratulations to our staff on the highly anticipated new release of Coastal County Snapshots! Our staff are part of a larger team that includes the prime contractor, Lynker, Inc, and federal staff from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office for Coastal Management who worked for over a year to complete this major task. Coastal…