AnalysisNationalGreat Barrier ReefBy Angus DaltonApril 1, 2025 — 6.35pm, registeror subscribeto save articles for later.Save articles for laterAdd articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.Examine, a free weekly newsletter covering science with a sceptical, evidence-based eye, is sent every Tuesday. You’re reading an excerpt – sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox.Fish scientist Letizia Pessina is pursuing a cleaner wrasse, a super-smart fish resembling a striped tube of toothpaste that has wriggled to life.Decked out in scuba gear and a pink bandana, she somersaults over a boulder coral, trying to snatch the elusive wrasse with a handheld aquarium net.It’s taxing work in the 29.7-degree water. After a dive, Pessina and her fish-catching assistants often collapse in their yellow research dinghy for a nap.We’re in the waters off Lizard Island Research Station, a globally renowned facility that coral biologists Dr Emily Howells and her partner, Dr David Abreg...
