![]() “They are taking the space,” Pawlik says. The sponges have banded together with another major player, the algae, to push out the corals and achieve reef domination-thereby adding another grave threat to one of the world’s most important ecosystems. The recent evidence, he says, suggests the battle of the reefs has become somewhat lopsided. Pawlik, an ecologist and leading sponge expert at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, has surveyed Caribbean reefs for decades. ![]() And the sponges, says Joseph Pawlik, are secretly plotting to take over the whole reef. It’s every critter for itself: The angelfish eat the corals, some of which strike back with tiny harpoons the barracudas eat the angelfish, which hide behind sponges. The soft corals sway in the current, colorful fish swim lazily by, and turtles float happily above.īut this is a mirage. One is as a fantastic, calming world of peace and harmony, so different from our hectic lives on shore. Cozumel Island, MexicoDescending into the clear blue water of the Colombia Reef, off Cozumel in Mexico, there are two ways to look at what greets you.
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