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One Cubic Foot Of Life (PHOTOS): More Than One Thousand Organisms Found In Small Spaces

First Posted: 03/28/10 06:12 AM ET   Updated: 05/25/11 04:20 PM ET

Special from National Geographic by Edward O. Wilson, photographs by David Liittschwager

"When you thrust a shovel into the soil or tear off a piece of coral, you are, godlike, cutting through an entire world," writes biologist E.O. Wilson in the current issue of National Geographic Magazine. "You have crossed a hidden frontier known to very few."

Read E.O. Wilson's full article.

Check out David Liittschwager's photos of some of the species you can find in a single cubic foot of coral:

Cubic Foot
 
David Liittschwager worked with scientists from the Moorea Biocode Project, a venture to inventory species on and around Moorea.



Click here for more Liittschwager photos.
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Special from National Geographic by Edward O. Wilson, photographs by David Liittschwager "When you thrust a shovel into the soil or tear off a piece of coral, you are, godlike, cutting through an ent...
Special from National Geographic by Edward O. Wilson, photographs by David Liittschwager "When you thrust a shovel into the soil or tear off a piece of coral, you are, godlike, cutting through an ent...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
satanlite
Liberal blogger
2434 Fans
02:02 PM on 01/26/2010
Better look fast. In 10 years they'll all be gone.

Except in aquariums, of course.
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Mike Bergen
0 Fans
12:59 PM on 01/26/2010
Great use of photography!
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Cucaracha
5 Fans
12:43 PM on 01/26/2010
Those are just stunning creatures. Mother Nature is in constant motion and I am only sorry I won't live for 1000 yrs to see what else she comes up with or what we discover. Amazing fauna in just 1 sq ft of coral!!! That's just overwhelming.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
babyboomerorig
Finally, it's spring!
589 Fans
11:19 AM on 01/26/2010
Never in my life did I think I'd ever think a slug was pretty.
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mudslide
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12:13 PM on 01/26/2010
That's what she said...
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bkpx
4 Fans
10:21 AM on 01/26/2010
You can read about it here as well, with a few extra photos:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/sciencestories/2010/moorea_biocode.htm
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rightsaid
1 Fans
 
09:12 AM on 01/26/2010
This guy is an amazing photographer! Had the pleasure of being their in French Polynesia -- part of the tropics with LOW diversity if you can believe that -- as part of the BioCode Moorea project. Check it out: http://www.mooreabiocode.org/
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