Media Gallery: Photos A-Z

  • Cooks Bay in Moorea is one of the places that researchers are scouring in their quest to collect one of every life form big enough to pick up with tweezers.

    Cooks Bay, Moorea
    Jan 29 2013 - 11:19am
    Cooks Bay in Moorea is one of the places that researchers are scouring in their quest to collect one of every life form big enough to pick up with tweezers. In the background is Mt. Rotui—the...
  • This magnified photo provides a close-up look at copepods—tiny crustaceans that right whales feed on.

    Copepods: Right Whale Food
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    This magnified photo provides a close-up look at copepods—tiny crustaceans that right whales feed on. There are many species of copepods that live throughout the water column, from floating at the...
  • Colorful corals are disappearing in the Great Barrier Reef.

    Coral at the Great Barrier Reef
    Oct 2 2012 - 3:04pm
    This colorful coral lives in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. On the whole, this coral reef is the largest single structure built by living organisms and can be seen from space! Although more than one...
  • Flower-like clusters of pink polyps make up this coral colony.

    Coral Colony
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
    Flower-like clusters of polyps make up this coral colony. Their pink color comes from the zooxanthellae living inside. More about coral reef ecosystems can be found in our Coral Reefs featured story.
  • Red coral necklaces in a display window. Harvesting deep-sea coral to produce jewelry like this threatens these ecosystems.

    Coral for Sale
    Oct 19 2012 - 11:07am
    Red coral necklaces fill a store display window. The United States annually imports around one million live coral animals from tropical reefs for use in aquariums, and is the largest documented...
  • <p><span style="line-height: 20px;">In some reefs, small fishes such as this broad-barred goby <strong><a href="http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2012/11/when-attacked-corals-send-out-chemical-signals-to-recruit-bodyguard-fish/">protect corals by&nbsp;</a></strong></span><span style="line-height: 20px;"><strong><a href="http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2012/11/when-attacked-corals-send-out-chemical-signals-to-recruit-bodyguard-fish/">eating</a></strong> invading seaweeds.</span></p>

    Coral Goby Cleans Coral
    Nov 9 2012 - 4:44pm
    One of the first signs of a sick coral reef is seaweed creeping across the corals, stealing their precious sunny real estate. Healthy corals, however, aren't completely hopeless: in some...
  • UV light illuminates growth rings in a cross-section of 44-year-old Primnoa resedaformis coral found about 400 m (1,312 ft) deep off Newfoundland.

    Coral Growth Rings
    Nov 8 2012 - 10:50am
    Ultraviolet light illuminates the growth rings in a cross-section of a 44-year-old deep-sea coral (Primnoa resedaeformis) collected off the coast of Newfoundland at about 1,300 feet (400...
  • Coral Head Near Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Hawaii

    Coral Head Near Pearl and Hermes Atoll
    Aug 13 2010 - 4:27pm
    Papahānaumokuākea, a chain of islands northwest of the main Hawaiian archipelago, is home to vibrant coral reefs with scores of fish species. It was designated a Marine World Heritage Site in August...
  • A hermit crab looks out from its coral dwelling in the waters of Japan's Ogasawara Islands.

    Coral Hermit Crab
    Dec 19 2011 - 2:48pm
      A coral hermit crab, Paguritta harmsi, about the size of two grains of rice, living in coral in the waters of Japan's Ogasawara Islands.  
  • A graph compares the crustacean biodiversity of coral reefs around the world.

    Coral Reef Biodiversity: A Comparison
    Jun 20 2012 - 9:46am
    How biodiverse is one coral reef compared to another? To find out, in Spring 2012, Smithsonian scientist Chris Meyer his students in the Indonesian Biodiversity Research Center (IBRC) course counted...
  • A coral reef covered by silt and sand in the Western Pacific Ocean.

    Coral Reef Covered by Silt and Sand
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    This coral reef in the Western Pacific Ocean was killed by human input of silt and sand from nearby islands reaching the coral reef habitat. More about coral reef ecosystems can be found in our Coral...
  • Sea bass flock to a tropical coral reef in the Red Sea.

    Coral Reef Ecosystem, Red Sea
    Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
    Tropical coral reefs—found in warm, clear, shallow waters—support a rich diversity of marine life, such as these sea bass in the Red Sea. Learn more in the Ocean Portal's Coral Reefs section.