Eureka! Scientists find a great world treasure. It’s a new coral reef.

The reef hides out underwater near the Galápagos Islands. How long has it been there?

Likely for several thousand years.

Did people know about it?

Nope.

Best of all, the reef looks healthy. Many other reefs are anything but. Warm water causes corals stress. They bleach (turn white) and die. Pollution and overfishing destroy them too. But not this reef. It stretches more than a mile. It crawls with abundant marine life.

Just two percent of the ocean floor is filled with the branching shapes of coral. But a quarter of all marine species depend on the underwater forests. Clown fish, parrotfish, grouper, and snapper hide among the coral’s antler-shaped branches and the reef’s nooks and crannies. Coral forests attract eels, sea snakes, octopuses, and even sharks. In healthy reefs, jellyfish and sea turtles are regular visitors too.

Fish rely on the reef structure to hide from danger and lay eggs. But they repay the favor. They eat up the coral’s rivals. You see, life on the ocean floor is like a slow-motion contest for space. Tropical fish and other marine animals, like black sea urchins, munch on fast-growing algae and seaweed. If they didn’t, those underwater plant-like organisms would quickly crowd out slower-growing coral.

The Galápagos Islands lie in the ocean near Ecuador. Giant tortoises, albatrosses, cormorants, and many other animals make homes there. Scientists believed the Galapagos had just one surviving reef: Wellington Reef along the coast of Darwin Island. But the new discovery proves them wrong. On the new reef, more than half the coral is alive.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. — James 1:17

Why? God makes all parts of His abundant creation to work together. Variety means strength.