LEBANON-CLIMATE-ENVIRONMENT-MARINE-URCHIN

Dying long-spined sea urchins are pictured about 10 metres underwater on the Mediterranean sea floor off the shore of Lebanon's northern coastal city of Batroun on January 7, 2024. A parasite was found to be responsible for the massive death of long-spined sea urchins in the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba and off Oman during the start of summer 2023, and was suspected to spread to the Eastern Mediterranean thus wiping out all long-spined Diadema sea urchins which feed on algae and protect coral reefs from outgrowing algal blooms. (Photo by Ibrahim CHALHOUB / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM CHALHOUB/AFP via Getty Images)