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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Richard Luscombe in Miami

‘Knight in spiny armor’: could lobsters help save Florida’s dying corals?

The Caribbean spiny lobster leaves the reef at night to feed.
The Caribbean spiny lobster leaves the reef at night to feed. Photograph: Azoor Wildlife Photo/Alamy

An unexpected champion has emerged in the increasingly grave battle to save Florida’s imperiled coral reefs: spiny lobsters that urinate in the water and scare off predatory worms and snails seeking to feast on the delicate organisms.

The finding is one of the more bizarre conclusions of a three-year study by scientists from the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC), who are also warning it may already be too late for some species of coral to survive without significant human assistance.

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