Photo of the Day 248

Schoolmaster Snappers, Conch Reef, Florida, 2003

Photograph by Brian Skerry

A column of schoolmaster snappers hovers near a support beam for the Aquarius research station near Florida's Conch Reef. Installed in 1993, this railroad-car-size unit gives scientists a permanent place to observe the creatures that live on the reef and how each plays a part in the ecosystem.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Deep Science: Sleeping With the Fishes," September 2003, National Geographic magazine)