Isla San Pedro Martir at sunset with extensive forest of Cardon Cactus seen on the summit ridge of the island, aerial photo, Sea of Cortez, Mexico. San Pedro Martir Island and its marine life are, since 2002, part of the San Pedro Martir Biosphere Reserve, and is regarded as a natural laboratory of adaptive evolution, similar to that of the Galapagos Islands. It is home to 292 species of fauna and flora (both land-based and aquatic), with 42 species protected by Mexican law, and 30 listed on the Red List of Threatened Species. San Pedro Martir is also unique in the area for its year-round quantity of birds. The island is the only island in the area with a perpetually swirling cloud of sea birds. This is because the water around the island, has some of the most successful marine productivity in the world.
Location: Isla San Pedro Martir, Sonora, Mexico
Image ID: 40397
Colorful dendronephthya soft corals and various hard corals, flourishing on a pristine healthy south pacific coral reef. The soft corals are inflated in strong ocean currents, capturing passing planktonic food with their many small polyps.
Species: Dendronephthya soft coral, Dendronephthya
Location: Namena Marine Reserve, Namena Island, Fiji
Image ID: 31407
Various stony and soft corals on pristine tropical reef. Table coral competes for space on the coral reef by growing above and spreading over other coral species keeping them from receiving sunlight.
Species: Anthias, Pseudanthias
Location: Namena Marine Reserve, Namena Island, Fiji
Image ID: 31408