Image 7-11
Gulf of Mexico Reef

This image of a rocky coral reef was taken by NOAA photographer Emma Hickerson in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. The rocky reef is covered by a species of coral is known as a starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea), which is common throughout the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. This reef provides habitat for a school of brown chromis (Chromis multilineata). These fish are common in the Caribbean where they feed on zooplankton and copepods.