Doug Perrine / Bioluminescence from glowing plankton in sea tide line on beach, with stars above and ship lights on horizon, Vaadhoo Island, Raa Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean, October 2010

Adam White / Aerial view of island, showing land, sea and reef, Seychelles

SINCLAIR STAMMERS / Preserved Coelocanth (Latimeria chalumnae) on public display at the Natural History Museum in London, found originally off the Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean. In life they are a dark blue colour w...

Georgette Douwma / Dead surgeonfish being 'cleaned' by a Bleusreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus). Many fish observed dead or dying on reefs in the Maldives, April 2012. Another episode of dying fish was in 2007....

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) swimming just below surface, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Looking down on sea grass, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Great frigate birds (Fregata minor) sitting in tree, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) swimming in shallow crystal clear water, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) fins at frenzied surface, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) group swimming in shallow turquoise sea, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus), Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Aldabra giant tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) on beach at dusk, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) pair mating near surface, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) approaching Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) in shallow water, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reefs sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) dorsal fins visible at sea surface at dusk, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) in shallow water gathering very close to shore, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) swimming in shallow crystal clear water, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) split level view of group hunting at dusk, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Striated green heron (Butorides striatus) jumping to catch dragonfly prey, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) swimming in shallows at sunset, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Georgette Douwma / Oriental sweetlips (Plectorhinchus vittatus), Maldives, Indian Ocean

Georgette Douwma / Guineafowl puffer fish (Arothron meleagris) also known as the Golden puffer or Spotted puffer because is has three colour phases which differ dramatically. Maldives, Indian Ocean

David Noton / Dramatic evening sky over Anse Source d'Argent, La Digue. Seychelles. February 2007.

Doug Perrine / Researcher Guy Stevens photographs belly spot identification pattern of Reef manta ray (Manta alfredi formerly Manta birostris) feeding on plankton, Hanifaru Bay, Baa Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean, Oc...

Doug Perrine / Reef manta ray (Manta alfredi formerly Manta birostris) barrel roll filter feeding on plankton, Hanifaru Bay, Baa Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean, October

Doug Perrine / Reef manta rays (Manta alfredi formerly Manta birostris) chain-feeding on plankton, Hanifaru Bay, Baa Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean, October

Doug Perrine / Reef manta rays (Manta alfredi formerly Manta birostris) vortex / cyclone feeding on plankton, Hanifaru Bay, Hanifaru Lagoon, Baa Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean, October

Doug Perrine / Reef manta rays (Manta alfredi formerly Manta birostris) filter feeding on plankton among Silverside fish that are also feeding on the plankton, Hanifaru Bay, Hanifaru Lagoon, Baa Atoll, Maldives, Ind...

Charlie Summers / Christmas Island Frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi) hovering in flight. Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, Australia, December.

Georgette Douwma / Bleached coral {Acropora sp} caused by loss of algae with living purple polyps. Maldives.

Alex Mustard / Group of Manta rays (Manta birostris) feeding together on plankton in a shallow lagoon. Hanifaru Lagoon, Baa Atoll, Maldives. Indian Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Large Manta ray (Manta birostris) feeding on plankton in very shallow water, viewed from the surface. Hanifaru Lagoon, Baa Atoll, Maldives. Indian Ocean.

Mark Carwardine / Pink pigeon (Columba / Nesoenas mayeri) threatened / endangered species, Black River Gorges, Mauritius, Indian Ocean, wild

Mark Carwardine / Pink pigeon (Columba / Nesoenas mayeri) threatened / endangered species, Black River Gorges, Mauritius, Indian Ocean, wild

Mark Carwardine / Pink pigeon (Columba / Nesoenas mayeri) threatened / endangered species, Black River Gorges, Mauritius, Indian Ocean, wild

Mark Carwardine / Mauritius / Mascarene / Echo parakeet (Psittacula eques) flying, threatened / endangered species, Black River Gorges, Mauritius, Indian Ocean, wild

Mark Carwardine / Mauritius / Mascarene / Echo parakeet (Psittacula eques) threatened / endangered species, Black River Gorges, Mauritius, Indian Ocean, wild

Mark Carwardine / Pink pigeon (Nesoenas / Columba mayeri) threatened / endangered species, Black River Gorges, Mauritius, Indian Ocean, wild

Ingo Arndt / Blue Crab (Discoplax hirtipes) in defensive posture, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, Territory of Australia

Konrad Wothe / Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) pair leaping, Honduras

Peter Scoones / Bleached {Acropora sp} coral caused by loss of algae due to temperature change. Maldives.

Rod Williams / Sloth bear {Melursus ursinus} female portrait. Captive. Sri Lanka.

Pete Oxford / Granite outcrop, Source d'argent beach, La Digue, Seychelles. Coastal landscape

Pete Oxford / Coconut crab (Bigrus latro) on tree trunk, Aldabra, Seychelles.

Gavin Hellier / Anse Severe Beach and Palm Tree at sunset, La Digue Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Konrad Wothe / Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) pair swimming over coral reef, Honduras

Konrad Wothe / Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) leaping out of water, Caribbean

Chris Newbert / Pickhandle Barracuda (Sphyraena jello) school, Solomon Islands

Norbert Wu / Granite Island and Coconut Palms, unique idyllic islands, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Norbert Wu / Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) largest fish in the world to 60 feet, Seychelles

Norbert Wu / Coral sand beaches with unique granite formations, Seychelles

Norbert Wu / Coral sand beaches with unique granite formations, Seychelles

Tui De Roy / Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) leaping playfully through calm inter-island seas, Hood Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Tui De Roy / Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) trio underwater, Roca Redonda, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Mark Jones / Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) underwater group, Roca Redonda, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Norbert Wu / One-fin Flashlight Fish (Photoblepharon palpebratum) light organ under eye used in mating and attracting prey, Grand Comore Island, Indian Ocean

Norbert Wu / Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) living fossil, ancestor of amphibians and land vertebrates, Comoros Islands

Juergen Freund / Island aerial view, the Maldives

Gavin Hellier / Tropical sea and beach, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Francis Abbott / Helengeli Island. North Male Atoll. Maldives

Toby Sinclair / Coconut palm tree on beach {Cocos nucifera} Lakshadweep, Laccadive islands, Indian ocean

Doug Perrine / Coral Hind / grouper {Cephalopholis miniata} on coral reef, Maldives, Indian Ocean (Non-ex).

Adam White / Giant tortoise {Geochelone elephantopus} wave breaking on back, Aldabra, Seychelles

David Noton / Uninhabitated tropical island. South Male Atoll, Maldives.

Pete Oxford / Coconut palm trees and granite outcrop. Sourse d'Argent beach, Las Digue, Seychelles.

Gavin Hellier / Anse Severe Beach and Palm Tree, La Digue Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Gavin Hellier / Anse Source d'Argent Beach, La Digue Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Juergen Freund / Whale shark {Rhincodon typus}, Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean

Juergen Freund / Whale shark {Rhincodon typus}, split level, Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean

Gavin Hellier / Granite Boulder at Anse Source d'Argent beach, La Digue Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Gavin Hellier / Anse Source d'Argent Beach, La Digue Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Gavin Hellier / Anse source d'Argent Beach, La Digue Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Gavin Hellier / Anse Source d'Argent Beach, La Digue Island Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Gavin Hellier / Anse Source d'Argent Beach with granite boulders, La Digue Island Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Gavin Hellier / Anse Source d'Argent Beach with granite boulders, La Digue Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Gavin Hellier / Sea Sand & Sky in stormy weather, Petite Anse beach, Mahe Island, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Pete Oxford / Hawksbill turtle {Eretmochelys imbricata} diving from sea's surface, Poive Is, Amirantes Group, Seychelles

Ben Lascelles / Scale-breasted Munia / Nutmeg Manakin (Lonchura punctulata). Flic-en-flac, Mauritius.

Ben Lascelles / Pink Pigeon (Columba mayeri). Mauritius.

Ben Lascelles / Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) head portrait. Mauritius.

Ben Lascelles / Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) head in profile. Mauritius.

Kevin Schafer / Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) chick begging parent for food, Bird Island, South Georgia Island

SINCLAIR STAMMERS / Preserved Coelocanth, (Latimeria chalumnae) found off the Comoro Islands, Indian Ocean. In life they are a dark blue colour with mottled white markings, these have been bleached out by the preserving...

Enrique Lopez-Tapia / Aerial view of sand atolls and corals off the coast of the Island of Zanzibar, Tanzania

Enrique Lopez-Tapia / Aerial view of sand atolls and corals off the coast of the Island of Zanzibar, Tanzania

Georgette Douwma / Spotted unicornfish (Naso brevirostris). Maldives.

Georgette Douwma / Yellowfin surgeonfish (Acanthurus xanthopterus) feeding on a dead surgeonfish. Many fish observed dead or dying on reefs in the Maldives, April 2012. Another episode of dying fish occured in 2007. Cau...

Georgette Douwma / Banded coral shrimp (Stenopus hispidus). Maldives.

Georgette Douwma / Black stingray (Taeniura melanospilos) lying on sandy bottom under overhang with Blueline snappers (Lutjanus kasmira). Maldives.

Georgette Douwma / Maldives / Blackfinned anemonefish (Amphiprion nigripes). Maldives.

Yukihiro Fukuda / Wedgetailed shearwater (Puffinus pacificus) incubating egg on nest that is underground, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Looking out across shallow sea from deserted beach, Christmas Island, July 2008

Yukihiro Fukuda / Lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel) parent coming into land at nest with waiting chick, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Red tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubicauda) in flight, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Red tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubicauda) in flight, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July

Yukihiro Fukuda / Lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel) female and chick at nest on top of shrub near beach, chick begging for food, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, July