Times of the Islands Winter 2022/23

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green pages newsletter of the department of environment & coastal resources SHUTTERSTOCK ALIZEE ZIMMERMANN Top: Long-spined sea urchins — the “Spikey Boys” — take their natural place on the seabed. Left: A healthy juvenile Diadema antillarum hides from daylight under a ledge. Right: A recently dead long-spined sea urchin — notice that the spines have dropped off. Spikey Boys The importance of having urchins. By Alizee Zimmermann, Turks & Caicos Reef Fund With flickers of iridescent blue, elegant spines of obsidian black, five self-sharpening teeth (yes, you did read that right), and an ample appetite, the long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum) might just be the most interesting creature you didn’t know would fascinate you. 46 www.timespub.tc
green pages newsletter of the department of environment & coastal resources A deep dive into the world of echinoderms (urchins and sea stars) will send the imaginative mind reeling from images of teeth with individual jaws, limbs that can regenerate whole bodies, and painful pricks on unsuspecting feet when exploring rocky shores and surf zones. Aristotle’s Lantern (the urchin’s mouth) alone can be a little nightmarish. Truth be told though, the real nightmare would be a reef without them. You see, these sunlight-shy herbivores love to roam at night, “grazing the lawns” of an underwater world. Have you ever seen those halos that form around patch reefs along the banks or around coral bommies on your favourite dive sites? Those are the markings of active herbivory. Somewhat territorial and although hungry, not mindless eating-machines, the distance of their nightly travels and the vigor of their appetites can be discerned via these aquatic crop circles. A keystone species on our reefs, these surprisingly active “spikey boys” keep substrate, coral skeletons, and rocks clean of algae, a must to create an attractive spot for coral larvae to settle on. Baby corals can travel through the currents for weeks at a time, looking for that perfect spot to land, at which point they become “settlers.” A clean surface without algae is top of the list when perusing real estate options! In the mid 1980s there was a massive die-off of D. antillarum throughout the region, covering an area of approximately 3.5 million km 2 . This loss remains one of the most widespread invertebrate mortality events ever recorded. Over a 13-month period, more than 93% of the population perished. Beginning in Panama (with unknown origins), the die-off then extended around the Caribbean, Florida, the Flower Garden Banks, and Bermuda. Nearly four decades later, another mortality event is threatening the still-recovering Atlantic and Caribbean populations. According to the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) program, “While we do not know what is causing these dispersed die-offs, the speed at which large numbers of sick urchins are now dying on affected reefs resembles the mass mortality event of four decades ago. We worry that a real crisis is developing in the Caribbean, where stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has already caused widespread coral losses affecting about 34 coral species in 20 countries/territories.” Although regional reports of urchin die-offs seem to have stopped, we have no way of knowing if this current mortality event is over yet. This map shows the spread of D. antillarum mortality in the Caribbean and mid-west Atlantic from January 1983 to February 1984. H.A. LESSIOS ALIZEE ZIMMERMANN This less-than-one-centimeter coral recruit needs a clean surface to settle — created by herbivores such as sea urchins. Comparing the 1983–84 and 2022 mass mortality events we can see differences in where each began (Panama versus U.S. Virgin Islands) as well as in their primary dispersal mechanisms. The 1980s event spread from Panama by surface currents eventually to virtually everywhere to its north and east in the Greater Caribbean while the 2022 event has greater evidence of possible anthropogenic dispersal, given the scattered new geographic locations that popped up during this past spring. Another difference is that only Diadema were affected Times of the Islands Winter 2022/23 47
Page 1 and 2: TIMES OF THE SAMPLING THE SOUL OF T
Page 4 and 5: contents Departments 6 From the Edi
Page 6 and 7: from the editor MICHAEL MORTON—WW
Page 8 and 9: The Leading Private Bank in the Tur
Page 11: Building Your Vision, Delivering Ex
Page 17 and 18: PROTECT THE HOME YOU LOVE WHEN YOU
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Page 28 and 29: SHUTTERSTOCK
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Page 34 and 35: green pages newsletter of the depar
Page 50 and 51: SIMON BUSUTTIL
Page 52 and 53: At the peak of the last ice age (ro
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Page 58 and 59: History In 1989, the Provo Golf and
Page 60: GARY JAMES—PROVO PICTURES This bi
Page 63 and 64: intact. As custodians of the larges
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Times of the Islands Winter 2022/23

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