Reef Life: A Guide to Tropical Marine Life

A practical, up-to-date, comprehensive guidebook for divers, naturalists and students, featuring more than 1000 color photographs of 800 species of ocean life.

From tide pools to coral reefs and the open ocean beyond lies a world abounding with an assortment of colorful fish and fascinating creatures. The lure of the life that inhabits the ocean's reefs and open water is no secret to scuba enthusiasts and snorkelers who enjoy the opportunity to gaze upon this wonderful world through their dive masks. Reef Life identifies the most-likely encountered underwater life in the tropical marine environment, featuring more than 800 beautiful color photographs that provide the keys to this magnificent world.

A gallery of more than 400 species offers readers an extensive identification guide to the most-likely encountered fishes and features each in detail: name, species, habitat, range and a description particular to the animal covered. With sections on invertebrates and algae, this guide reveals much about the range of animals and plants in the undersea ecosystem. Included is behavioral information on feeding, mimicry, and symbiosis, providing insights into natural survival strategies taking place among animals beneath the ocean surface.

The clear, concise descriptions of the myriad of animals in the tropical oceans are collected in this handy, portable and comprehensive reference for use in the field or at the desk. The surveys of the tropical ocean regions and sea life around the world include:

• The Caribbean
• The Hawaiian Islands
• French Polynesia
• The Fijian Islands
• The Philippines and South China Sea
• Micronesia
• The Indonesian Archipelago
• Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands
• The Great Barrier Reef
• Western Thailand and Andaman Sea
• The Maldives and Western Indian Ocean
• The Red Sea
• Tropical Eastern Pacific.

Brandon Cole is a biologist, wildlife photographer and photojournalist specializing in the marine environment worldwide. His photography has appeared in hundreds of magazines including GEO, National Geographic, Newsweek, Outside, Scientific American and Smithsonian. He lives in Spokane Valley, Washington.

Scott W. Michael is an internationally recognized writer, underwater photographer, and researcher who specializes in elasmobranchs (i.e., sharks, skates and rays) and coral reef fishes. He is the author of Reef Sharks and Rays of the World (1994). A scientific consultant for National Geographic Explorer and the Discovery Channel, he lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.