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Coral reefs are an integral part of the Caribbean fabric, threading along thousands of kilometers of coastline. Teeming with fish and invertebrate life, these ecosystems provide food for millions of people. Buffering shorelines, they protect the land from the worst ravages of storms. Coral reefs form the foundation of the thriving Caribbean tourism industry, the region’s most important economic sector. The reefs supply much of the sand for the region’s beautiful beaches and lure divers and snorkelers from far and wide to come and explore the reefs’ colorful and mysterious depths. The dazzling array of species living on coral reefs has also attracted the attention of the pharmaceutical industry as a potential source of new drugs and life-saving medical treatments.