The World Beneath. Richard Smith
forests, with many of a reef’s organisms dating back hundreds of millions of years.
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3 Wolfgang Kiessling et al., “An Early Hettangian Coral Reef in Southern France: Implications for the End-Triassic Reef Crisis,” Palaios 24 (2009): 657–671.
4 George Stanley Jr. and Peter Swart, “Evolution of the Coral-Zooxanthellae Symbiosis during the Triassic: a Geochemical Approach,” Paleobiology 21, 2 (1995): 179–199.
5 C. Hearn, M. Atkinson, and J. Falter, “A Physical Derivation or Nutrient-Uptake Rates in Coral Reefs: Effects of Roughness and Waves,” Coral Reefs 20 (2001): 347–356.
6 Michael Huston, “Variation in Coral Growth Rates with Depth at Discovery Bay, Jamaica,” Coral Reefs 4 (1985): 19–25.
7 Heike Wagele and Geir Johnsen, “Observations on the Histology and Photosynthetic Performance of ‘Solar Powered’ Opisthobranchs (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia) Containing Symbiotic Chloroplasts or Zooxanthellae,” Organisms, Diversity and Evolution 1 (2001): 193–210.
8 Ken Ridgway and Katy Hill, “Marine Climate Change in Australia: Impacts and Adaptation Responses,” Report Card 5 (2009).
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11 Craig Johnson et al., “Climate Change Cascades: Shifts in Oceanography, Species’ Ranges and Subtidal Marine Community Dynamics in Eastern Tasmania,” Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 400 (2011): 17–32.
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15 Anshika Singh and Narsinh Thakur, “Significance of Investigating Allelopathic Interactions of Marine Organisms in the Discovery and Development of Cytotoxic Compounds,” Chemico-Biological Interactions 243 (2016): 135–147.
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17 Mary Elliot, “Profiles of Trace Elements and Stable Isotopes Derived from Giant Long-Lived Tridacna gigas Bivalves: Potential Applications in Paleoclimate Studies,” Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 280 (2009): 132–42.
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19 D. Brown et al., “American Samoa’s Island of Giants: Massive Porites Colonies at Ta’u Island,” Coral Reefs 28, 3 (2009): 735.
20 Andrew Hoey and David Bellwood, “Limited Functional Redundancy in a High Diversity System: Single Species Dominates Key Ecological Process on Coral Reefs,” Ecosystems 12 (2009): 1316–1328.
21 Michael Crosby and Ernst Reese, “A Manual for Monitoring Coral Reefs with Indicator Species: Butterflyfishes as Indicators of Change on Indo-Pacific Reefs.” Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD (1996).
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23 Charles Boch et al., “Effects of Light Dynamics on Coral Spawning Synchrony,” Biological Bulletin 220 (2011): 161–173.
24 Jasper de Goeij et al., “Surviving in a Marine Desert: the Sponge Loop Retains Resources Within Coral Reefs,” Science 342, 6 (2013): 108–110.
25 Patrick Lemaire, “Evolutionary Crossroads in Developmental Biology: the Tunicates,” Development 138 (2011): 2143–2152.
Chapter 3:
The Coral Triangle
Huge clouds of damselfishes in hues of gray, yellow, and baby blue pulse in and out of the protection of the field of branching corals that stretches before me. Trevallies, small relatives of the tuna, burst from out of nowhere to try and snag one of these wary but tasty treats. Several blacktip reef sharks slowly cruise above the sharp coral, paying no attention to either myself or their potential prey. I turn my attentions from the reefscape and look down at the smaller animals around me. A pair of ring-tailed cardinalfish, a species-rich group of small reef fishes, is below, the male’s mouth full of rusty orange eggs. The reef is busy. Every glance reveals a new branch from the tree of life. Not just fish and corals, but sea stars, tunicates, whip corals (whip-shaped corals range in length from a few to ten feet and can be solitary or form small bushes), and sailors’ eyeballs—a silvery marble-like alga—all buzzing, all contributing to the cornucopia of life.
Juvenile twoline dottyback emerging from a giant clam. Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia.
Often dubbed the “rain forests of the sea,” coral reefs contain outstanding natural diversity, packed full of vibrant animals that capture the imagination. They accommodate some of the highest densities of animals on earth and more species than any other marine habitat. Although coral reefs are widespread throughout the tropics, they cover only a small area of our planet: a space smaller than the state of Texas, covering a measly 0.1 percent of the Earth’s surface.26 While