Nature reports

Sint Eustatius’ once-thriving coral reefs are now mere survivors, facing a decline from 25 percent hard coral cover in 1999 to less than 2.5 percent in 2021. This alarming trend has prompted an urgent initiative: a seven-year..

Caribbean coral reefs suffer from algae cover, which hinders new coral growth and survival. One of the causes is the absence of herbivorous Diadema sea urchins that graze on algae, but whose populations have plummeted. On January..

Diadema sea urchins are important algae grazers, but after mass die-off events in the 1980s and 2022 restoration of the species has been slow and difficult. Restocked sea urchins often have a very low survival rate. A new research..

Long-spined sea urchins help maintain healthy coral reefs by grazing on algae. In 2022, there was a die-off of long-spined sea urchins in the Caribbean. A team of researchers has recently uncovered that a ciliary animal – a..

Researchers from Van Hall Larenstein, Wageningen University and Wageningen Marine Research have developed a new approach to assist Diadema sea urchins’ natural recovery. In collaboration with the Saba Conservation Foundation, they..

Last week, the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance hosted a sea urchin restoration workshop on Saba. This workshop helped 21 coral experts from the Caribbean region and more than 65 online attendants, to obtain a comprehensive view of..

Diadema sea urchins play a vital role in maintaining a balanced coral reef ecosystem and their restoration is essential to assist recovery of the degraded coral reefs around Saba and Sint Eustatius. A research by University of..

On October 22st, 2021, the first ever recorded Diadema sea urchins in the Caribbean were cultured on Saba. Diadema sea urchins are important grazers and can facilitate corals by reducing their competition with algae. By culturing..

University of Applied Sciences Van Hall Larenstein and Wageningen University and Research recently conducted a comparative study of artificial reefs within the Caribbean. This study provides new insights into the impacts of these..

In a Dutch marine lab the sea urchin Diadema antillarum has been cultivated. This sea urchin eats algae and is therefore important to help restore the coral reefs around Saba and Sint Eustatius (Caribbean Netherlands). The first..