Lobed Star and Finger Coral Surrounded by OCEANOS Students

A colony of lobed star coral (Orbicella annularis), dotted on the right side by colonies of finger coral (Porites furcate), sits on the ocean floor of Punta Soldado, Puerto Rico, surrounded by students in the NASA OCEANOS summer internship. The brighter gold sections of the coral are the live lobes, while the darker burnt orange sections have been colonized by an encrusting algae (Ramicrusta).