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
Developing Data and Tools to Support Offshore Wind
We have a team of staff who support offshore wind and other ocean planning efforts through two contracts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This team provides data development and management, web content management, and communication for the MarineCadastre.gov suite of products. Over several years, the team has produced, processed, and maintained nearly 300…
Continuing EPA Emergency Response Support
We’re proud to announce that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region Six recently awarded the Superfund Technical Assessment & Response Team (START) contract to the Weston Solutions, Inc. (Weston) team. CSS has supported the START program nationwide since 2005 and START Region Six as a prime contractor (2006-2016) and subsequently as a subcontractor to Weston.…
Expanding Our Offshore Wind Team
We’ve recently added several staff to bolster the offshore wind team at NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. With this full team of 13, our employee owners are able to provide more focused support in their areas of expertise, including mapping and spatial modeling, data collection, communications, project management, and partner engagement. Through this…