Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024). Once a year, the corals of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef pull off an orgy so massive it can be seen from space. Warmed by the water, tugged by the tides, and sparked by the full moon, coral polyps release eggs and sperm in a vast cloud. The buoyant bundles of gametes rise to the surface, forming vast slicks shaped by ocean currents. As…
