Environmental DNA

Sea urchin research at Tel Aviv University. Photo by Shahaf Ben Ezra

Pathogens, storms and extreme temperatures: the causes of mass sea urchin deaths

A pair of studies from Tel Aviv University map 110 mass mortality events of sea urchins since 1888 and show that pathogens are the main cause, while also presenting a "corona swab" method for non-invasive genetic sampling under the skin.