tioned Aquarius' cost -- an estimated $1.5 million a year -- and whether it is the best use of limited research dollars.
"Underwater habitats capture people's imaginations. There's lots of good publicity," said Alina Szmant, a coral reef physiological ecologist at the University of Miami. "But they're very expensive."
Other scientists think Aquarius is the best thing since Jacques Cousteau -- and a boon for the Keys in particular.
"I would see (Aquarius) as a form of insurance," said Billy Causey, manager of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. "We need to know the very most we can about this very fragile environment. Otherwise, it can slip away and be gone before you even realize it."