MSGID: 1:317/3 6440c035   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Scientists identify 2022 sea urchin killer    
    The mass die-off of the long-spined sea urchin -- a loss that threatens   
   the health of coral reefs from the Caribbean to Florida's east coast -- was   
   caused by a one-celled organism called a ciliate.    
      
     Date:   
         April 19, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of South Florida   
     Summary:   
         A team of researchers has identified a single-celled organism   
         called a ciliate as the cause of a massive die-off event to a   
         marine animal vital to coral reef health.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   The search for the 2022 killer that decimated the long-spined sea urchin   
   population in the Caribbean and along Florida's east coast is over. A   
   team of researchers organized by Mya Breitbart, Distinguished University   
   Professor at the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science,   
   identified a single-celled organism called a ciliate as the cause of a   
   massive die-off event to a marine animal vital to coral reef health.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Their findings were reported in Science Advances.   
      
   "We're beyond thrilled to get to the bottom of the 2022 mystery and a   
   bit stunned we did it so quickly," said Breitbart, senior author on the   
   Science Advances study and an expert in marine genomics. "We had a great   
   team in place and the tools needed to do the ocean science equivalent   
   of a forensic investigation."  Ciliates are microscopic organisms   
   covered in hair-like structures called cilia that help them move and   
   eat. They are found almost anywhere there is water and most are not   
   disease-causing agents. However, this specific species of ciliate --   
   called a scuticociliate -- has been implicated in die-offs of other   
   marine species, such as sharks, in the past.   
      
   Examining urchins collected from 23 sites in the Caribbean, the research   
   team used a series of techniques to confirm the source of the die-off   
   event.   
      
   After identifying the ciliate in every affected urchin specimen using   
   genomic techniques, the team grew ciliates in the lab and performed   
   infection experiments at the USF College of Marine Science. When the   
   pathogen was introduced to otherwise healthy urchins in an aquarium tank,   
   the urchins died within a few days -- replicating what was taking place   
   in the ocean and confirming the ciliate as the disease source.   
      
   "We're excited to share this information with everyone, from reef managers   
   to additional scientists so we can explore it further and try to stop   
   its spread," Breitbart said.   
      
   The long-spined sea urchins inhabit shallow tropical waters and feed   
   on algae that would otherwise destroy a reef. They began to lose their   
   spines within days of contracting an unknown disease and died in droves   
   starting in January 2022.   
      
   A similar die-off event took place in the early 1980s, which wiped out   
   98 percent of the long-spined sea urchin population. The culprit of that   
   die-off remains a mystery.   
      
   Breitbart first got the call about the unfolding die-off at the end   
   of March 2022. She immediately assembled a team consisting of Ian   
   Hewson, lead author on the publication and a marine ecologist at Cornell   
   University; Christina Kellogg, a microbiologist from the U.S. Geological   
   Survey in St. Petersburg, Fla. who has worked extensively on coral reef   
   diseases; and USF graduate student Isabella Ritchie.   
      
   "At the time, we didn't know if this die-off was caused by pollution,   
   stress, something else -- we just didn't know," said Hewson, an expert   
   in diseases that cause mass die-offs of sea stars, who flew from New   
   York to the Caribbean Islands to observe the situation.   
      
   Even with the source of the mysterious die-off uncovered, questions   
   still remain. For example:   
       * Is this ciliate new to the area, or was it there prior to the   
       die-off?  * If it has been there, what environmental conditions   
       favored its growth   
         and why did it infect the urchins?   
       * Can it affect other species of urchins?   
   "One theory we have is that the ciliate grew well under high-productivity   
   conditions that were observed in the Caribbean when the die-off first   
   started," Kellogg said. "We're also curious about the fact that there   
   is some overlap in some geographic areas where this die-off occurred   
   and where corals are declining from stony coral tissue loss disease."   
   The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Atkinson   
   Center for Sustainable Futures Rapid Response Award, AGGRA, the National   
   Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Fish and Wildlife   
   Foundation, Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary and the Florida Fish and   
   Wildlife Conservation Commission.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Marine_Biology # Fish # Sea_Life # New_Species   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Coral_Reefs # Ecology # Oceanography #   
                   Environmental_Awareness   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Coral_reef o Coral_bleaching o Great_Barrier_Reef o Coral o   
             Permian-Triassic_extinction_event o Red_tide o Dinoflagellate   
             o Artificial_reef   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_South_Florida. Original   
   written by Kristen Kusek. Note: Content may be edited for style and   
   length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Ian Hewson, Isabella T. Ritchie, James S. Evans, Ashley Altera,   
      Donald   
         Behringer, Erin Bowman, Marilyn Brandt, Kayla A. Budd, Ruleo   
         A. Camacho, Tomas O. Cornwell, Peter D. Countway, Aldo Croquer,   
         Gabriel A. Delgado, Christopher DeRito, Elizabeth Duermit-Moreau,   
         Ruth Francis-Floyd, Samuel Gittens, Leslie Henderson, Alwin Hylkema,   
         Christina A. Kellogg, Yasunari Kiryu, Kimani A. Kitson-Walters,   
         Patricia Kramer, Judith C. Lang, Harilaos Lessios, Lauren Liddy,   
         David Marancik, Stephen Nimrod, Joshua T.   
      
         Patterson, Marit Pistor, Isabel C. Romero, Rita Sellares-Blasco,   
         Moriah L. B. Sevier, William C. Sharp, Matthew Souza, Andreina   
         Valdez-Trinidad, Marijn van der Laan, Brayan Vilanova-Cuevas,   
         Maria Villalpando, Sarah D.   
      
         Von Hoene, Matthew Warham, Tom Wijers, Stacey M. Williams,   
         Thierry M.   
      
         Work, Roy P. Yanong, Someira Zambrano, Alizee Zimmermann, Mya   
         Breitbart.   
      
         A scuticociliate causes mass mortality of Diadema antillarum   
         in the Caribbean Sea. Science Advances, 2023; 9 (16) DOI:   
         10.1126/sciadv.adg3200   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230419142739.htm   
      
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