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Colorized satellite image of milky sea off Java
Milky Seas Can Be Spotted from Space
Analysis of data from a new satellite sensor helps researchers detect large patches of bioluminescence in the oceans faster than ever before.
Milky Seas Can Be Spotted from Space
Milky Seas Can Be Spotted from Space

Analysis of data from a new satellite sensor helps researchers detect large patches of bioluminescence in the oceans faster than ever before.

Analysis of data from a new satellite sensor helps researchers detect large patches of bioluminescence in the oceans faster than ever before.

marine biology

ABOVE: A pair of Labroides dimidiatus cleaner fish cleaning a puffer fish
Cleaner Fish Alter Behavior if Partners Can See Them “Cheating”
Chloe Tenn | Oct 7, 2021 | 4 min read
A study of feeding behavior suggests the fish feed differently in front of their partners—a behavioral feature also found in primates.
Chelonibia testudinaria barnacle on turtle shell
Some Barnacles Can Move Around to Improve Feeding Position
Chloe Tenn | Oct 6, 2021 | 7 min read
The Scientist spoke with marine biologist and barnacle researcher John Zardus about why turtle barnacles—previously thought to be immobile—in fact slowly travel. He thinks the answer is food.
sea snake swimming in blue water
Sea Snake “Attacks” Are Cases of Mistaken Identity: Study
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Aug 19, 2021 | 6 min read
The Scientist spoke to marine biologist Tim Lynch, who dusted off 25-year-old data from his PhD to figure out why olive sea snakes approach divers so often. He says the animals, especially the males, likely confuse people for potential mates.
Three researchers with headlamps on stand around a loggerhead turtle on the beach while a man covers the turtle's face with a gloved hand
Tiny Hitchhikers Reveal Turtles’ Movements and Foraging Ecology
Amanda Heidt | Jul 13, 2021 | 7 min read
Microscopic creatures called epibionts that live on sea turtles’ shells can help researchers understand their secretive lives.
A blue coelacanth with white speckles in the ocean
African Coelacanths May Live to Be 100: Study
Catherine Offord | Jun 18, 2021 | 2 min read
This evolutionarily ancient fish species has a lifespan that’s around five times longer than previously thought, and a gestation time of more than five years.
Newly named jellyfish Tima nigroannulata swimming in Japan’s Kamo Aquarium.
Aquarium Jellyfish Turns Out to Be Undescribed Species
Lisa Winter | Jun 18, 2021 | 2 min read
The newly characterized “elegant jellyfish,” roughly the size of a human hand, had been on display in two aquariums in Japan for more than a decade.
man in motorboat by a pier with the sea surface covered in marine mucilage
Why Turkey’s Sea of Marmara Is Full of Marine Snot
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jun 11, 2021 | 3 min read
Turkish officials are scrambling to clean up a massive, gooey plankton bloom that’s sliming the country’s ports and could suffocate the area’s marine ecosystems.
Close-up shot of smooth cauliflower polyps
Comprehensive Atlas of Reef-Building Coral’s Cells Created
Christie Wilcox, PhD | May 13, 2021 | 5 min read
Single-cell RNA sequencing helps to catalog the dozens of cell types present in a stony coral, including its elusive immune cells.
A tiger shark swimming in the shallow water of the ocean above a sandy bottom, with another shark and fish in the background
While Some Sharks Flee, Tiger Sharks Brave Stormy Seas
Nikk Ogasa | May 12, 2021 | 3 min read
For the first time, scientists tracked large shark movements during hurricanes and found that tiger sharks may find the turmoil opportunistic for feeding.
Sponge Names for Sale, Proceeds to go to Conservation Efforts
Asher Jones | May 1, 2021 | 5 min read
A tidy-up of a New Zealand storage room led to the sale of naming rights for three new-to-science Galápagos Islands species.
kelp maullinia pathogen parasite marine biology
Kelp Pathogen Has Spread Across the Southern Ocean
Chris Baraniuk | Apr 5, 2021 | 3 min read
Scientists suspect the gall-forming protist Maullinia hitches a ride on kelp rafts to reach new host populations at far-flung sites.
Many Deep-Sea Microbes Invisible to Mammalian Immune System
Abby Olena, PhD | Mar 12, 2021 | 3 min read
In a new study, human and mouse cells recognized only one in five bacterial species collected from more than a mile below the Pacific Ocean’s surface.
Cuttlefish, cephalopod, mollusk, mollusca, animal behavior, marshmallow test, cognition, intelligence, evolution
Cuttlefish Delay Gratification, a Sign of Smarts
Asher Jones | Mar 5, 2021 | 8 min read
The cephalopods resisted temptation for up to 130 seconds to earn their favorite food, hinting at sophisticated cognitive abilities such as planning for the future.
Certain Color Varieties of a Coral Are More Protected from Bleaching
Lisa Winter | Feb 25, 2021 | 2 min read
In yellow-green and purple versions of the reef-building Acropora tenuis, the genes that code for particular fluorescent and other colorful proteins become more active in the summer, protecting symbiotic algae from thermal stress and resisting bleaching.
Thousands of Sea Turtles Immobilized by Brutal Texas Winter Storm
Lisa Winter | Feb 18, 2021 | 1 min read
Volunteers have been working around the clock to rescue the animals found stunned on the beach.
Balaenoptera physalus, fin whale, seismology, acoustic, earthquake, recordings, ocean
Whale Song Echoes Help Scientists Map the Ocean Floor
Asher Jones | Feb 12, 2021 | 2 min read
By analyzing how fin whale calls bounce off the seafloor, scientists can recreate ocean crust layers.
Restored Corals Spawn Hope for Reefs Worldwide
Hanna R. Koch, Erinn Muller, and Michael P. Crosby | Feb 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Novel technologies establish a new paradigm for global coral reef restoration, with in situ spawning of mature, environmentally resilient corals in five years instead of decades.
Infographic: How to Accelerate the Growth of Restored Corals
Hanna R. Koch, Erinn Muller, and Michael P. Crosby | Feb 1, 2021 | 2 min read
Our novel technique involves planting several small fragments of slow-growing corals onto dead coral heads. The fragments eventually fuse, forming a large colony in a fraction of the time that it takes wild corals to build reefs.
Oceanic Shark and Ray Numbers Down 71 Percent over Past 50 Years
Lisa Winter | Jan 28, 2021 | 3 min read
Overfishing is the biggest factor driving these species toward extinction, researchers conclude from a new study.
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