| CAY | Small island, typically at the surface of a coral reef (3) |
| ACE | Card that's typically at the front of a new deck |
| POLYP | Piece of a coral reef |
| NEUROMATA | Benign tumour, typically at the end of a severed nerve |
| DART | Tapering fold sewn into a garment in order to shape it, typically at the waist or bust (4) |
| LEI | Floral wreath by a coral reef |
| KEY | What is a coral island off the coast of Florida? (3) |
| OUTCROPS | Parts of rock formations or mineral veins that appear at the surface of the earth (8) |
| SLAG | The scum formed by oxidation at the surface of molten metals (4) |
| THEU | Nickname of a Coral Gables school; also, what vowel is missing from the sequence of circled entries? |
| DROSS | Scum formed at the surface of molten metals (5) |
| STARFISH | Known collectively as a galaxy or a constellation, a marine echinoderm inhabiting a coral reef, rock pool, seagrass meadow or kelp forest (8) |
| ECOSYSTEM | Word for a biological community of flora/fauna and the physical environment in which they collectively interact, such as a coral reef, rainforest, river or woodland (9) |
| LAGOON | Body of salt water separated from the sea by a coral reef (6) |
| MEISSNEREFFECT | The phenomenon in which magnetic flux is excluded from a substance when it is in a superconducting state, except for a thin layer at the surface |
| ATOLL | Geographical formation in which a coral reef encloses a lagoon |
| SCUBADIVER | One admiring a coral reef at great depth: 2 wds. |
| SNORKEL | What is the name for the breathing tube used for swimming at the surface with the face down? (7) |
| OUTCROP | Emergence of a rock at the surface |
| SHAKEUP | Small fish at the surface for a change |
