January 15, 1999

On the Great Barrier Reef, N.C. State Students Add to the 'Exuberance of Life'

By PETER MONAGHAN

When she finally spots a pincushion starfish in the shallows between two clumps of coral, Jamie Stevens springs toward it. Usually quite abundant, the Culcita had eluded her for weeks. Now Ms. Stevens, a biology major at North Carolina State University, can add it to her log of starfish and urchin observations.

Earlier during today's reef walk, she had cradled in her hands a Spanish dancer, a deep-crimson variety of sea slug about the