Steve Whalan is an Associate Professor at Southern Cross University with two decades of experience researching life in marine ecosystems. He has published over 50 scientific articles on the ecology of marine invertebrates, with a focus on the behavior of their larvae. He spends his time piecing together the puzzle of marine population maintenance, particularly for sponges and corals; both groups have remarkable biology’s, but it is how their motile larvae disperse, and choose their homes, that intrigues him most. As an animal ecologist it is perhaps wacky to write about connections to the “mind of plants”, but it is the connection among us all that provides fodder for interesting stories. Here, sponges and corals are intricately entwined to their coralline algae neighbours. More info: Steve_Whalan