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Castles Made of Sand: Coral Reefs and their Symbionts

Beyond Science

Towering coral, vibrant with color, and teeming with life is a common image when thinking of coral reefs. Scores of fish, sharks, sea turtles, and other exotic creatures form part of these richly diverse underwater gems of nature. But, did you know that reef ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) would not exist without an intricate symbiosis that evolved between corals and single-celled algae, too small to be visible with the human eye?