Sunday Nature Stills – 12/05/2021

It’s surprising sometimes how precarious life can be.  Sometimes a whole ecosystem can be just 30 feet wide.  I took this photograph at Heron Reef in the Great Barrier Reef just off the coast of Gladstone, Australia. The coral only lives at a specific depth were the light is strong enough, but it is always covered in water during low tide and protected from wave damage.  To the left, the cliff drops down to the depth of the surrounding sea. To the right, the water depth increases again to the inner protected water of the coral cay.  In-between those depth extremes, is a thin strip of abundant life.  Not too deep, and not too shallow; just right.