Cold Water Reefs Fuse in a Rare Example of Deep-Sea Cooperation

Tropical coral, the iconic face of coral life everywhere, fuse together with the help of calcareous algae that grow on the crust of the unusual animals' dead branches. However, not every species of coral colonizes in this manner. A new study on cold-water corals has found that even unrelated species can fuse in a unique process that does not require the help of a third party, making for some beautiful combinations of shape and color.