A team of Oakland University researchers has published the first complete mitochondrial genome of Diadema antillarum, commonly known as the long-spined sea urchin. The invertebrate marine herbivore inhabits the shallow waters of the Western Atlantic and Caribbean and serves a crucial ecological function: grazing on algae along the region’s coral reefs, preventing overgrowth that can threaten the reefs and the biodiversity they support.
Click here for original story, Researchers publish mitochondrial genome of long-spined sea urchin, guardian of Caribbean coral reefs
Source: Phys.org