Humans donB次元官网网址檛 know what theyB次元官网网址檙e missing under the surface of a busy shipping channel in the B次元官网网址渃ruise capital of the world.B次元官网网址�

Just below the keels of massive ships, an underwater camera provides a live feed from another world, showing marine life thatB次元官网网址檚 trying its best to resist global warming.

That camera in MiamiB次元官网网址檚 Government Cut is just one of the many ventures of a marine biologist and a musician whoB次元官网网址檝e been on a 15-year mission to raise awareness about dying coral reefs by combining science and art to bring undersea life into pop culture.

Their company B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� is surfacing stunning images, putting gorgeous closeups of underwater creatures on social media, setting time-lapsed video of swaying, glowing coral to music and projecting it onto buildings, even selling a coral-themed beachwear line.

B次元官网网址淲e arenB次元官网网址檛 all art. We arenB次元官网网址檛 all science. We arenB次元官网网址檛 all tech. We are an alchemy,B次元官网网址� said Colin Foord, who defies the looks of a typical scientist, with blue hair so spiky that it seems electrically charged. He and his business partner J.D. McKay sat down with The Associated Press to show off their work.

One of their most popular projects is the , which recently passed 2 million views and usually has about 100 viewers online at any given time each day.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to actually be able to document one year of coral growth, which has never been done before in situ on a coral reef, and thatB次元官网网址檚 only possible because we have this technological connection right here at the port of Miami that allows us to have power and internet,B次元官网网址� Foord said.

The livestream has already revealed that staghorn and other corals can adapt and thrive even in a highly urbanized undersea environment, along with 177 species of fish, dolphins, manatees and other sea life, Foord said.

B次元官网网址淲e have these very resilient corals growing here. The primary goal of us getting it underwater was to show people there is so much marine life right here in our city,B次元官网网址� Foord said.

McKay, meanwhile, sounds like a Broadway producer as he describes how he also films the creatures in their Miami lab, growing coral in tanks to get them ready for closeups in glorious color.

B次元官网网址淲e essentially create a set with one of these aquariums, and then obviously thereB次元官网网址檚 actors B次元官网网址� coral or shrimp or whatever B次元官网网址� and then we film it, and then I get a vibe, whatever might be happening in the scene, and then I soundtrack it with some ambient like sounds, something very oceanic,B次元官网网址� McKay explained.

Their latest production, B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� will be shown on the this week as the Aspen Institute hosts a major climate conference in Miami Beach. Foord is speaking on a panel about how the oceanB次元官网网址檚 natural systems can help humans learn to combat impacts of climate change. The talkB次元官网网址檚 title? B次元官网网址淭he Ocean is a Superhero.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 think when we can recognize that weB次元官网网址檙e all this one family of life and everything is interconnected, that hopefully we can make meaningful changes now, so that future generations donB次元官网网址檛 have to live in a world of wildfires and melted ice caps and dead oceans,B次元官网网址� Foord told the AP.

Their mission is urgent: After 500 million years on Earth, these species are under assault from climate change. The warming oceans prompt coral bleaching and raise the risk of infectious diseases that can cause mass die-offs in coral, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Stronger storms and changes in water chemistry can destroy reef structures, while altered currents sweep away food and larvae.

B次元官网网址淐limate change is the greatest global threat to coral reef ecosystems,B次元官网网址� .

That gets at the second part of Coral MorphologicB次元官网网址檚 name. B次元官网网址淲hat does it mean to be morphologic? It really means having to adapt because the environment is always changing,B次元官网网址� Foord said.

The staghorn, elkhorn and brain coral living in Government Cut provide a real-world example of how coral communities can adapt to such things as rising heat and polluted runoff, even in such an unlikely setting as the port of Miami. Their video has documented fluorescence in some of the coral, an unusual response in offshore waters that Foord said could be protecting them from solar rays.

B次元官网网址淭he port is a priceless place for coral research,B次元官网网址� Foord said. B次元官网网址淲e have to be realistic. You wonB次元官网网址檛 be able to return the ecosystems to the way they were 200 years ago. The options we are left with are more radical.B次元官网网址�

Beyond the science, thereB次元官网网址檚 . Coral Morphologic sells a line of surf and swimwear that takes designs from flower anemones and brain coral and uses environmentally sustainable materials such as a type of nylon recycled from old fishing nets.

B次元官网网址淲e see the power of tech connecting people with nature. We are lucky as artists, and corals are benefitting,B次元官网网址� Foord said.

B次元官网网址擟urt Anderson And Cody Jackson, The Associated Press