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New faces at old places

Small mushroom-shaped coral colonies are young recruits that have settled on a large dead coral in the Red Sea. Juvenile corals are continually colonizing hard substrates, including ancient colonies that died from environmental stress. WHOI scientist Konrad Hughen has been researching Red Sea coral reefs this year in collaboration with WHOI colleagues and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. This new settlement suggests that damaged coral reefs may repopulate and recover, if natural and man-made stresses are reduced.
(Photo by Konrad Hughen, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)