Chris Newbert / Stony Corals, Red Sea, Egypt

Birgitte Wilms / Disc Coral (Turbinaria reniformis) garden, 30 feet deep, Papua New Guinea

Chris Newbert / Harlequin Ghost Pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) female in front of Hump Coral (Porites sp) 80 feet deep, Solomon Islands

Chris Newbert / Star Horseshoe Worm (Pomatostegus stellatus) growing in Hump Coral (Porites sp) 40 feet deep, Solomon Islands

Chris Newbert / Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) male in Hard Corals (Anacropora forbesi) 20 feet deep, Solomon Islands

Birgitte Wilms / Stony Coral (Acropora sp) growing close to surface, five feet deep, Solomon Islands

Birgitte Wilms / Stony Coral (Acropora sp) growing close to surface, five feet deep, Solomon Islands

Fred Bavendam / Stony Coral (Acropora sp) colony releasing egg-sperm bundles during the mass coral spawning each March at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

Fred Bavendam / Clubbed Finger Coral (Porites porites), South Caicos, British West Indies

Norbert Wu / Mushroom Coral (Fungiidae) growing together in shallow water, Indonesia

Norbert Wu / Euphyllia Coral (Euphyllia ancora) a type of stony coral with distinctive polyps, Papua New Guinea

Norbert Wu / Disc Coral (Turbinaria reniformis) provides shelter for squirrelfish, Ulong Channel, Palau

Norbert Wu / Brain Coral (Diploria sp) colony partially taken over by sponge, which may eventually cover the entire coral, Indonesia

Fred Bavendam / Coral Shrimp (Vir philippinensis) living on Rounded Bubblegum Coral (Plerogyra sinuosa) green spots are Acoelous Flatworms, Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Norbert Wu / Brain Coral (Diploria sp) symbiotic algae within polyps produce food, Roatan, Honduras

Norbert Wu / Coral Shrimp (Vir philippinensis) gain protection among stinging tentacles of Bulb Tentacle Sea Anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor) filled with eggs, Philippines

Fred Bavendam / Sea Star (Leiaster sp) crawling among Stony Coral (Tubastraea sp) on a reef wall, Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Fred Bavendam / Red-spotted Coral Crab (Trapezia rufopunctata) living among the stout branches of Cauliflower Coral (Pocillopora eydouxi), Bali, Indonesia

Norbert Wu / Brain Coral (Diploria sp) dying, white area has been bleached and covered by sediment Healthy coral colony is greenish-brown and clearly shows grooves

Norbert Wu / Brain Coral (Diploria sp) dying, white area has been bleached and covered by sediment Healthy coral colony is greenish-brown and clearly shows grooves

Norbert Wu / Lettuce Coral (Agariciidae) bleached, killed by high ocean temperatures and other causes, Caribbean

Fred Bavendam / Hump Coral (Porites sp) colony, part of it exhibiting bleaching which occurs when a coral expels its Zooxanthellae possibly due to heat stress, Indonesia

Fred Bavendam / Hump Coral (Porites sp) colony, part of it exhibiting bleaching which occurs when a coral expels its Zooxanthellae possibly due to heat stress, Indonesia

Fred Bavendam / Soft Coral (Ctenocella sp) colony growing amidst large plates of Cabbage Coral (Turbinaria sp), Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea

Fred Bavendam / Cabbage Coral (Turbinaria sp) and Stony Coral (Acropora sp) with fish in reef, Papua New Guinea

Fred Bavendam / Reticulated Dasycllus (Dascyllus reticulatus) and several other kinds of small reef fish hover above a colony of Staghorn Coral, Bali, Indonesia

Fred Bavendam / Reticulated Dascyllus (Dascyllus reticulatus) and several kinds of Cardinalfish hover about a colony of Staghorn Coral, Indonesia

Fred Bavendam / Soft Coral (Ctenocella sp) colony growing amidst large plates of Cabbage Coral (Turbinaria sp), Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea

Flip Nicklin / Stony Coral (Acropora sp) underwater, Grand Cayman

Fred Bavendam / Orange-spotted Filefish (Cantherhines pullus) sleeping at night among Sponges and Orange Cup Corals (Tubastraea coccinea), Bonaire, Caribbean

Fred Bavendam / Orange-spotted Filefish (Cantherhines pullus) sleeping at night among Sponges and Orange Cup Corals (Tubastraea coccinea), Bonaire, Caribbean

Fred Bavendam / Threespot Damselfish (Eupomacentrus planifrons) living amidst Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis) fish kills Coral polyps and feeds on algae, Venezuela

Fred Bavendam / Threespot Damselfish (Eupomacentrus planifrons) living amidst Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis) fish kills Coral polyps and feeds on algae, Venezuela

Jeff Rotman / Stacked plates of Yellow stony coral (Tubinaria mesenterina), Red Sea, Egypt

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Stony coral {Acropora sp} + Yellow plate coral {Turbinaria sp} Red Sea

Roberto Rinaldi / Close-up of stony coral (Scleractinia) on a reef, Belize

Roberto Rinaldi / Close-up of the patterns on maze coral (Scleractinia), Belize

Roberto Rinaldi / Macro image of a hard coral / stony coral (Faviidae sp), La Réunion, Indian Ocean

Roberto Rinaldi / Close-up of stony / hard coral, New Caledonia, Melanesia.

Roberto Rinaldi / Macro image of a hard coral / stony coral (Faviidae sp), La Réunion, Indian Ocean

Roberto Rinaldi / Fairy basslet (Gramma loreto) swimming over stony coral / brain coral, Belize.

Christian Ziegler / Hump Coral (Porites sp) and tube songe, Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata), Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata), Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Brain Coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis) and seaweed, Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Coral (Faviidae) with sea urchins and feather duster worms, Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Hump Coral (Porites sp) with Feather Duster Worm (Sabellidae) filter feeding, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Hump Coral (Porites sp) growing directly under Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Pete Oxford / Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus giganteus) filter feeding while attached to Great Star Coral (Montastraea cavernosa), Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, Caribbean

Pete Oxford / Feather Duster Worm (Sabellidae) filter feeding within Brain Coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis), Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, Caribbean

Birgitte Wilms / Stony Coral (Acropora sp), Indonesia

Roberto Rinaldi / The patterns on a sheet coral, Belize

Scott Leslie / Brain Coral pattern, Bonaire, Caribbean

Fred Bavendam / Freckled Hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri) hoping to grab a juvenile Damselfish (Chromis sp) on a staghorn coral colony, Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Chris Newbert / Mushroom Coral (Fungia sp) detail, Solomon Islands

Chris Newbert / Euphyllia Coral (Euphyllia ancora) close-up of polyps, Coral Sea

Norbert Wu / Amethyst Anthias (Pseudanthias pascalus) juvenile and female, and Lettuce Corals (Agariciidae) near Sangalakki Island, Borneo

Juergen Freund / Coral polyps feeding on worm at night. Carribean