It’s not hard to find a long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) on rocky walls and in underwater forests comprised of golden kelp (Ecklonia radiata) and crayweed (Phyllospora comosa) in southeast Australia.
They also live in “urchin barrens”, areas of bare rock and encrusting algae. In media reports, these areas are often described as “lifeless moonscapes”. In this telling, large numbers of urchins eat their way through kelp forests and create new barrens.
