Overview

• A rapidly spreading epidemic is causing a mass die-off of sea urchins in the Gulf of Aqaba, wiping out an entire species in just a couple of months.
• The sea urchins play a critical role in maintaining healthy coral reefs by controlling algae growth, and their disappearance could have devastating consequences.
• Researchers are urgently calling for action to protect endangered coral reef ecosystems already under threat.
• Isolated populations of remaining sea urchins may be used to repopulate reefs if the epidemic can be contained.
• The unknown pathogen responsible for the sea urchin deaths is spreading from the eastern Mediterranean to the Red Sea.