Search
On coral reefs fish are important links in the food chain that sustains higher-order predators (including humans) and keeps everything in balance.
Photo

Black Axil Chromis on a Coral Reef

View Image
On a healthy coral reef, fish (as well as many other organisms) thrive. Not only are reefs beautiful, but they are also critical to ocean health and human livelihoods.
Photo

Healthy Coral Head

View Image
A coral catshark
Photo

Coral Catshark

View Image
Raccoon butterfly fish and angelfish on a reef in the Red Sea, near Sharm el Sheik, Egypt.
Photo

Coral Reef Scene

View Image
Two coral trout swim on a reef in Fiji.
Photo

Coral Trout in a Fiji Reef

View Image
The branches of a primnoid coral in the genus Calyptrophora provide a habitat for galathaoid crabs.
Photo

Primnoid Coral

View Image
The staghorn coral is listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. It is one of 22 coral species listed.
Photo

Staghorn Coral

View Image
A purple hard coral releases bundles of pink eggs glued together with sperm.
Photo

Coral Spawning

View Image
3-D map of Chapman’s Reef. Produced in 2005 with multibeam sonar from an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).
Photo

Deep-Sea Coral Reef Map

View Image
Close-up photograph of translucent coral polyps, showing the symbiotic algae living inside.
Photo

Close-up of a Coral Polyp

View Image
Rockfish, anemones and other invertebrates inhabit this deep-sea coral reef in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
Photo

Deep-Sea Coral Habitat

View Image
Whip coral gobies live on coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific, where they are found on a single species of coral: black wire coral.
Photo

Whip Coral Goby Portrait

View Image