Twenty-five years after bottom trawling had taken place on three Juan Fernández seamounts, the researchers found that these sites experienced significant ecological changes, including declines in live coral cover, biodiversity and habitat complexity, along with signs of physical damage to the seafloor. Not only that, but the scientists observed that these seamounts had become overrun with oval-shaped cactus sea urchins (Dermechinus horridus), which appeared to be preying on corals near the trawled areas. This led the authors to hypothesize that the urchins could be “delaying the recovery and growth of cold-water coral colonies.”
