A new lease on life
Sheltered in a quiet inlet, resting in less than 50 feet of water, the Kasi Marus has
undergone an extraordinary
transformation.
These waters are teeming with
microscopic creatures. But water is a world in
motion. And what these creatures need is a firm-fixed base, on which they can anchor and grow. The sudden arrival of the Kasi Marus was a stroke of luck. The battered hole proved to be exactly what these creatures were after. From the moment the ship sank, she became the scene of a second battle, bombarded by all sorts of
marine life, fighting to gain a
foothold. Among the first to colonize the stark scaffolding of the Kasi Marus, were the hard corals. They began to build, and it's the corals that are the architects of this new world. Their designs come in all shapes and sizes.
Branching corals grow quickly in the warm calm waters. Plate corals grow more slowly, but their unhurried advance pays off. Eventually their flat expanses block light from reaching
species underneath, stifling the competition. Massive brain corals, the slowest growing of all, are also the toughest. They're built to
withstand rough storms at sea, but here, shielded from the violence of the waves, they flourish side by side with more delicate cousins. In the
benevolent conditions of the cove, the corals on this wreck grow in
fantasticdiversity, numbering well over 100.
关键字:
好文共赏生词表: