Image

Safe Haven

January 18, 2016

An anemone fish finds refuge in its namesake location–an anemone. This pair were photographed in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), a place that has drawn attention from scientists of late for its size and location. At nearly the size of California, PIPA is one of the world’s largest marine protected areas and is situated in the middle of the Pacific far from most forms of direct human impact. As a result, it is increasingly used as a benchmark from which to measure the effects of global environmental change, such as warming and ocean acidification, on marine ecosystems worldwide.(Photo by Hanny Rivera, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)