Sea Urchins Help Rescue Hawaiian Reef
A fast-growing seaweed-like algae is smothering Hawaiian reefs, especially in Kaneohe Bay, near Honolulu. In an effort to slow the spread of the invasive plant, scientists have been raising baby sea urchins in a hatchery, getting them ready to battle the algae.
Raising urchins in captivity is very difficult because the larvae are microscopic and must remain suspended in the water column until they are big enough to settle on side or bottom of a container.
After three or four months the little urchins are ready to be planted on the reef, where they will happily gorge themselves on the algae. During the following six months they will double or triple in size as the much their way across the reef, cleaning off the algae and helping to restore balance to the delicate ecosystem.
For years Hawaiian pest controllers have used a special super-sucker to mop the algae off the reef but in 2009 they discovered that sea urchins can keep the invasive seaweed at bay. The first batch of 1,000 baby collector urchins was released recently. The goal is to ramp up urchin production so scientists can release another 20,000 baby urchins in April.
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