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Pictured here is a diverse community of marine sponges on a coral reef in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Humans are largely made up of millions of microbes, collectively called our microbiomes. These microbial "ecosystems" contribute to keeping us healthy. It's the same for corals and other species such as marine sponges, scientists are finding.
Through a new National Science Foundation Dimensions of Biodiversity grant, Michael Lesser of the University of New Hampshire and colleagues are studying the evolutionary ecology of sponges, and how their microbiomes drive diversity on coral reefs.Image credit: Deborah Gochfeld, University of Mississippi
