Cauliflower Coral

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Cauliflower coral, in the genus Pocillopora, are among the most widely distributed and most abundant corals found on the fore reef. These branching corals are covered with small bumps (called verrucae), which contain corallites and help in the identification of …

Reefs Around Rangiroa, Aratika and Raraka

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After two weeks, we’ve completed reef assessments around Rangiroa, Aratika, and Raraka and are now examining Fakarava. Tuamotu reefs are dramatically different from Society Islands.  Besides the near absence of crown of thorns seastars (we’ve seen a handful in the …

Living in Harmony, but Stress Can Kill

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Coral reefs are often called the rainforests of the seas. Teeming with life, reefs harbor a broad range of organisms that rely on a complex network of ecological interactions and symbiosis (close and often long-term interaction between two or more …

Corals in the Devil’s Crown

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After just one dive at San Cristobal Island, the team decided the water was too rough, so the Golden Shadow moved on. We woke Monday to overcast skies at Floreana, the southernmost of the five inhabited islands. Monday brought three dives …