How the Philippines’ Coral Heart Continues to Beat

Sweetlips dart over Tubbataha's coral, what photographer David Doubilet describes as "a true Serengeti of the sea."

A whale shark looms large in the waters of Tubbataha. The reef is home to 11 different species of shark.

A school of surgeon fish slices through the water.

Glittering like chainmail, a school of jack flow over a coral reef at Tubbataha.

Anthias speckle the water above one of Tubbataha's coral meadows.

Schooling jacks blanket the waters above Tubbataha's corals. Ocean currents export vast numbers of marine larvae throughout the Sulu Sea, buoying the country's fisheries.

A curious sea turtle snaps at a photographer's camera dome. Tubbataha is home to nesting hawksbill and green sea turtles.

Like silvery fruits dangling from an undersea tree, anthias dot the waters around a massive gorgonian sea fan.

Greater crested terns (Thalasseus bergii) nest on Bird Islet at Tubbataha Reef's North Atoll. The reef is a crucial seabird rookery, providing refuge for 100 species of birds.

A school of batfish drift through Tubbataha's depths. Some 600 species of fish populate the reef's waters, which also contain about half of all known coral species.

Anthias flock above a meadow of coral. Tubbataha first garnered protection in 1988 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site five years later.

Celestial fire meets water as the sun sets on Tubbataha. Photographers David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes describe sunsets there as "the most dramatic...we have ever witnessed on this planet."