Kategorie: News
Observations of young Diadem sea urchins give hope
In the last few months there has been a pleasing increase in observations of live young Diadem sea urchins in the Red Sea. Even though their numbers are still significantly lower than in the past - when they could be seen everywhere at dusk - these observations give us hope. Diademed sea urchins fulfil a crucial function in the coral reef ecosystem by acting as ‘lawnmowers’, keeping algae short and thus preventing them from overgrowing and suffocating the corals.
Unfortunately, however, isolated outbreaks of disease have been observed again in the northern Red Sea. Particularly worrying: the small, healthy sea urchins - beacons of hope for the next generation - disintegrated into skeletons within just 48 hours. We very much hope that these are localised isolated cases and will keep you informed of further developments.
It is not yet possible to say whether the disease will spread again or remain limited to a few areas. But one thing is clear: we need to keep a close eye on it.
The deadly pathogen - the same one that has dramatically decimated sea urchin populations in the Mediterranean and Red Sea - has now also reached the Indian Ocean. The pathogen is a ciliated organism (protozoa) that specifically attacks diademed sea urchins and leads to the death of the animals within a very short time.
‘Every single observation counts,’ says marine biologist Prof. Dr Ralph Schill from the University of Stuttgart and the research organisation aquatil. ‘This is precisely why the free Dive4Diadema app - available in five languages - is so important: it is our early warning system, fuelled by your attention, your dives and your reports. Thank you for being part of this citizen science initiative!’
We at Taucher.Net support the Citizen Science project and the current campaign: ‘Dive4Diadema’ - join the Citizen Science project ‘Dive4Diadema’ and report your observations at www.dive4diadema.org.
Acknowledgements
And also a big thank you to the Dive4Diadema partners: Aquanaut, ap diving, Beluga Reisen, Better Oceans, Blue Oceans, boot Düsseldorf, BSAC, CDWS, CMAS France, Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques, Coraya Divers, DAN Europe, Dansk Sportsdykker Forbund, DeepWave, Dive Point Red Sea, DIVEMASTER, DIVEVOLK, Diving Centres Werner Lau, divingEurope, Dolphin Watch Alliance, Dynamicnord, Egyptian Diving and Lifesaving Federation, elasmocean, European Underwater Federation, Extra Divers, Eye of Science, Federação Portuguesa de Actividades Subaquáticas, Fédération Luxembourgeoise des Activités et Sports Sub-Aquatiques, Flotte Flosse, Greenfins, HEPCA, i. a. c, ICMC, Ilios Dive Club, International Association for Handicapped Divers, Lebanon Water Festival, MareMundi, Marine Science Station Aqaba, OceanSoul, openocean, Orca Dive Clubs, Pharao Dive Club, Red Sea Diving Safari, Reefcheck Deutschland, Reisecenter Federsee, rrreefs, Scuba Schools International, Scuba World Divers, Seacam, Sinai Divers, SUBEX, Sukeltaja, Svaz potápěčů České republiky, tauchen, Taucher. Net, Austrian Diving Association, TECS Reisen, The Israeli Diving Federation, University of Stuttgart, UnterWasserFotografie, We Dive Travel