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School’s Out

June 13, 2018

Thriving schools of white grunts and schoolmaster snapper swim amid the lush corals of the Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) off Cuba. Because the reefs are somewhat remote and Cuba has remained relatively underdeveloped, the Jardines de la Reina have not been exposed to many of the stressors that have diminished other reefs throughout the world, including overfishing, tourism, pollution, and disease. WHOI biologist Amy Apprill led an unprecedented joint expedition with Cuban and American scientists in November 2017 to study these pristine and unexplored coral reefs. (Photo by Amy Apprill, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)