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Oceans

Healthy reef habitats are usually alive with the diverse sounds of marine life.

Bizarre Fish Songs Raise Hope for Coral Reef Recovery

Audio recordings show a once-dying ecosystem has transformed into a lively soundscape

Human-caused pollution is killing the seagrass that manatees feed on.

Florida Wildlife Officials Move to Feed Starving Manatees in Experimental Conservation Approach

The unprecedented feeding plan comes as more than 1,000 manatees—about 15 percent of the state’s total population—have died this year

A squid swims in the dark waters of the Mediterranean. Billions of aquatic animals, from krill to squid, travel to surface waters each night, a migration that scientists are only beginning to fully grasp.

What Drives Aquatic Animals to Make Vertical Migrations?

Researchers are trying to shed light on what leads many water dwellers—from plankton to large fish—to commute daily from the depths to the surface

Plastic makes up 80 percent of all marine debris found, from surface waters to deep-sea sediments 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Hosts Life in the Open Ocean

Coastal plants and animals are thriving on the plastic debris, posing potential ecological risks

Until recently, scientists knew relatively little about the lives of birds on the open North Atlantic. But a group of researchers has identified a habitat in the ocean teeming with great shearwaters and other seabirds.

Regulators Look to Protect a Seabird Hotspot in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean

Scientists have identified a key seabird feeding ground in need of safeguarding

By mating with the same partner each year, the albatross couples build trust, communication and coordination to help them raise demanding chicks successfully.

Albatrosses Mate for Life, but Climate Change Has Doubled Their ‘Divorce’ Rates

Food scarcity is causing the birds to return late for mating season, which decreases the chance of successfully hatching a chick

A growing body of work shows that marine animals are attracted to the sounds of healthy environments.

Playing Recordings of a Healthy Ocean Can Help Restore Marine Ecosystems

Scientists are using a ‘fake it til you make it’ approach to attract animals to coral reefs and other degraded habitats

Aside from discovering the fascinating geology of the Gulf’s floor, the team also found diverse sea life thriving on or near the vents and their mineral structures. Researchers photographed tubeworms living on or near the vents seen here.

Kaleidoscope of Deep-Sea Life Found Near Hydrothermal Vents Off Mexican Coast

Some of these unique features reached temperatures up to 549 degrees Fahrenheit

Scientists counted more than 10,000 teeth to find out how quickly the fish regrows its lost chompers.

This Fish Loses and Regrows 20 Teeth Each Day

The Pacific lingcod replaces its 500-plus teeth at a rapid pace, according to new research

The special lobster will spend the rest of her life at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire.

Rare ‘Cotton Candy’ Blue Lobster Is a 1-in-100 Million Catch

The crustacean’s bizarre blue hue could be due to genetics or diet

The tentacled butterfly ray hadn’t been documented since 1986, but in 2019 Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour started finding them hidden as by-catch in Iranian shrimpers’ catch.

Presumed Extinct Tentacled Butterfly Ray Is Found

Scientists were shocked to find the species holding out in the water off Iran

For a tiny, soft-bodied worm, seeking shelter by way of hermiting behavior likely protected it from predators.

Penis Worms May Have Been the First Real Hermits

Hermit crabs may have evolved hermiting behavior 180 million years ago, but penis worms beat them by more than 300 million years

oastal darkening reduces the amount of light that penetrates into coastal waters with a range of consequences for local ecosystems and, potentially, the world.

How Coastal Darkening Is Harming Kelp Forests

The environmental threat that researchers are only beginning to study is dramatically reducing the productivity of the plant

A humpback whale feeds on sand lance in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

Some Whales Can Eat Upwards of 16 Tons of Tiny Shrimp a Day

The giant mammals consume enormous quantities of marine organisms, three times more than previously thought, then their poop fertilizes the sea

Mosasaurus was among the largest and last of the sea-dwelling mosasaurs.

Giant Sea Lizards Ruled the Waves While T. Rex Roamed on Land

A new fossil discovery shows marine reptiles called mosasaurs lived up until the asteroid impact that killed non-avian dinosaurs

Hermit crabs are essential scavengers in the ocean. They may crawl into discarded tires looking for food or shelter, and become trapped and die of starvation.

Discarded Tires Are ‘Ghost Fishing’ Hermit Crabs

New research suggests these shell-swapping crustaceans are vulnerable to becoming trapped inside human debris

The volcano (not visible in this image) emerged near Mayotte Island (pictured), located between East Africa and Magagascar.

Underwater Eruption Off France’s Mayotte Island Gave Rise to a New Colossal Seamount

The 2018 blast was the most significant active submarine eruption ever documented

The device was developed by The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit that aims to remove 90 percent of floating ocean plastic by 2040.

This New Installation Pulled 20,000 Pounds of Plastic From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The trash collection device dubbed ‘Jenny’ could help address overwhelming marine plastic pollution

Melting sea ice because of climate change forces walruses to congregate on land instead of ice.

Researchers Need Volunteer ‘Walrus Detectives’ to Help Count the Animals in Satellite Images

The project aims to quantify the impact of climate change on the species

NOAA and Saildrone deployed the fleet of five hurricane-class vessels in the Atlantic’s “hurricane belt” in the summer months leading up to this year’s tropical storm season.   

Innovation for Good

‘Saildrone’ Captures First-Ever Video From Inside a Category 4 Hurricane

This uncrewed, remote-controlled vessel gathered valuable scientific data that could help researchers better understand and predict these violent storms

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