Coral and seaweed choose the bacteria that float in the waters above tropical reefs, a study of marine microbes suggests.
Microbial ecologist Linda Kelly of San Diego State University and colleagues examined microbes from the water just above 22 coral reefs. The organisms that claim the most real estate on the reef, coral or algae, determine which species of microbe live in the water, the researchers report June 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.