A5022434646- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Echinoderm biology and ecology
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
University of the Virgin Islands
2021-2024
United States Virgin Islands Department of Health
2024
Echinoderm mass mortality events shape marine ecosystems by altering the dynamics among major benthic groups. The sea urchin Diadema antillarum, virtually extirpated in Caribbean early 1980s an unknown cause, recently experienced another beginning January 2022. We investigated cause of this event through combined molecular biological and veterinary pathologic approaches comparing grossly normal abnormal animals collected from 23 sites, representing locations that were either affected or...
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first observed in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) January 2019. This affects at least 20 scleractinian species; however, it is not well understood how reef diversity its spread or impacts on ecosystems. With a large number of susceptible species, SCTLD may follow the diversity-disease hypothesis, which proposes that high species negatively correlated with prevalence. Instead, have higher prevalence and greater impact reefs diversity. To test...
Background Echinoderms play crucial roles in coral reef ecosystems, where they are significant detritivores and herbivores. The phylum is widely known for its boom bust cycles, driven by food availability, predation pressure mass mortalities. Hence, surveillance of potential pathogens associates grossly normal specimens important to understanding their ecology mortality. Methods We performed viral two common echinoderms, Diadema antillarum Holothuria floridana , using metagenomics. Urchin...