On Tuesday March 26th, I went to the Georgia Aquarium. I like to consider this one of my happy places. I love seeing the majestic whale sharks, the funny beluga whales with their knees, and the fluffier than life otters. When I heard that this was an option for a site visit, I jumped at the opportunity. Another reason I chose this site is because I just recently went on a spring break class trip to Key Largo. I wanted to test my fish identification skills. All of this considered, I decided the aquarium would be perfect.The day I went was very crowded. It was the middle of spring break, so small children were bouncing off the walls. Regardless, I still let myself have a good time. If you have never been, the aquarium is split up into different ecosystems. The coral in question was found in the Tropical Diver section. 

Now lets talk about our microbe. I have taken marine biology, so I already knew a little bit about the zooxanthellae and their role in their coral friends. I think any level of symbioses in nature is very fascinating. Two organisms that have evolved to solely rely on each other is mind blowing to me. Also, on my class trip to the Keys, we visited a coral nursery and I saw tons of coral in their natural habitat. I have a new found love for them and a new fire for saving them. I couldn’t “see” the zooxanthellae, but I saw the particular coral they were living amongst. 

Pictured above is the orange cup coral. Zooxanthellae is phylum dinoflagellate and species Symbiodinium.