Under the waves

Alice Shirley pays tribute to the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s biggest coral reef, off the coast of Queensland in northern Australia. The reef is the largest living organic structure on Earth. It features on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, and is home to a fascinating abundance of fauna. The living coral ‘sculptures’ attract a multitude of marine species, in an endless ballet of forms and colours. The sea turtle swims to Milman Islet, a small island off the far north of Queensland, to may its eggs. The leafy sea dragon takes shelter among the fronds of seaweed, while the mandarin fish busies itself hunting for plankton. Each owes its existence to the fragile balance of this extraordinary ecosystem.