Submitted by Bored_Survivor t3_zfvx6l in askscience
There seems to be many reports about all kinds of avian flus and diseases targeting other land animals, both domesticated and undomesticated. But you almost never hear about new fish diseases. Why is that so? I found nothing on that on the Internet.
atomfullerene t1_izembsl wrote
Diseases are hugely important in the ocean, you just dont hear about it as much. Just to start off with, viruses are constantly infecting and destroying a significan fraction of planktonic algae. A disease very nearly wiped out sea urchins in the carribbean, another did the same to many starfish on the west coast. Canine distemper outbreaks have big effects on seals and sea lions where they occur. Seagrass wasting disease wiped out north atlantic seagrass ecosystems in the 30's. White spot syndrome had a huge effect on the shrimp industry in the 90s.
Theres a lot going on below the surface