鈥楯anitors鈥 of the Sea: Overharvested sea cucumbers play crucial role in protecting coral
Georgia Institute of TechnologyIn a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology discovered that sea cucumbers 鈥 sediment-eating organisms that function like autonomous vacuum cleaners of the ocean floor 鈥 play an enormous role in protecting coral from disease. The problem is, they've been overharvested for more than 100 years, and they're now rare.