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Sea urchins in the Caribbean are dying. A student helped identify why

Microbiologist Mya Breitbart and her student, Isabella Ritchie, pose with sea urchins. (Courtesy of Mya Breitbart)
Microbiologist Mya Breitbart and her student, Isabella Ritchie, pose with sea urchins. (Courtesy of Mya Breitbart)

University of South Florida microbiologist Mya Breitbart and her student Isabella Ritchie are still riding the high of being part of a “once-in-a-career” discovery. In just a matter of months, they helped an international team figure out what’s behind a population decline of sea urchins in the Caribbean: a tiny parasite.

They join Deepa Fernandes to talk about their work to solve a sea urchin mystery.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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