Sea Creatures

New research shows how seals use their whiskers to aid them as they hunt. 

Seals Use Their Whiskers to Help Hunt in the Deep Ocean

New video footage shows rhythmic whisker movements that have never been observed before in seals in the wild

The eggs laid at at Galveston Island State Park were transported to an incubation facility, which will improve their chance of survival.

Good News

107 Critically Endangered Sea Turtle Eggs Found in Texas State Park

This is the first time in ten years that a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle has nested at the park

A common bottlenose dolphin swimming off the coast of France. 

Dolphins Have Different Whistles Based on Their Environment

Genetics have little influence on the differences between dolphin whistles, but location and population demographics play an important role

When a group of 360 dolphins visited corals located in the Northern Red Sea, reseachers noticed that calves under one year old would watch adults brush themselves against the coral.

Dolphins May Use Coral and Sponges as Skin Care Items

The mammals rub on invertebrates, possibly to contact substances that might work like antibacterial creams

Male Svalbard walruses cluster by the shore. Each weighs an average of about 3,000 pounds and is up to ten feet long.

Planet Positive

A Welcome Comeback for Norway's Walruses

A hunting ban has fostered the return of a nearly extinct species

Because of shore development and its heavily populated coastal cities, the Persian Gulf was one of the areas with the most light pollution.

First Global Atlas Reveals How Deep Artificial Light at Night Goes Underwater

Offshore development and coastal city lights negatively impact many marine species

Only in recent decades have researchers found that the fish have been gliding through the sea floors for hundreds of millions of years.

Rare Baby Ghost Shark Caught in New Zealand's Chatham Rise

There are about 52 known species of chimaera, half of which were discovered in the last two decades

Researchers attached green LED lights along the gillnet float line to keep unwanted marine animals from getting stuck.

Innovation for Good

Lit-Up Fishing Nets Dramatically Reduce Catch of Unwanted Sharks, Rays and Squid

Decorated nets entrapped fewer undesirable animals without significantly impacting the amount of target fish caught

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

Mollusks maintain the symmetry of their pearls by adjusting the thickness of each layer of shimmering nacre. If one layer of the pearl’s nacre is thinner, the next layer is thicker and will balance out irregularities over time to create a smooth, uniform pearl that isn’t lopsided.

How Pearls Obtain Their Remarkable Symmetry

A concept called 'pink noise' brings order to seemingly disorderly patterns seen in classical music, seismic activity, economic markets and even pearls

There are many reasons to be worried about the state of the world’s oceans. But some scientists say it’s important to point to successes, in order to motivate people to take further, evidence-based action.

Seven Reasons to Be Optimistic About the World's Oceans

The health of the ocean is under threat, but these good-news stories deserve attention too

A perfect storm of high demand clashing with supply chain issues, worker shortage and delivery problems is forcing restaurant owners to raise seafood prices on their menus.

Seafood Prices Soar Amid Supply Chain Issues and Worker Shortage

As demand for fish rises, restaurants are slammed with employment losses, port congestion, lack of product, rising costs and shipment snags

While Spongebob and Patrick are friends in the animated world, the relationship between sea stars and sponges is not as friendly in real life. Sea stars are carnivores and are known to prey on sea sponges, crabs, oysters, clams, and coral.

See SpongeBob SquarePants' and Patrick Star's Real-Life Twins

The aquatic pals were discovered one mile deep in the Atlantic Ocean during a NOAA expedition

A present-day orange demosponge (Agelas oroides) can be found off the coast of Corfu, Greece. Research suggests sponges may have lived on Earth 890 million years ago.

This Sponge Fossil May Be the Earliest Record of Animal Life

The 890-million-year-old relic predates periods of extreme cold and the planet’s second oxygenation spike

New research finds that sea otters have extremely high metabolisms for their size to keep warm in the cold ocean waters they inhabit.

New Research

With This Metabolic Trick, Sea Otters Stay Warm Without Shivering

Researchers find that the metabolisms of these marine mammals go into overdrive to create heat in cool waters

A healthy crop of mussels lines the coast, exposed during low tide. Mussels will split open when they overheat, such as in June's heat wave.

Pacific Northwest and Canada's Crushing Heat Wave Cooks Millions of Sea Creatures

The estimated death toll could be more than a billion

A young green sea turtle with a solar-powered satellite tag that was used to track it to the Sargasso Sea.

New Research

Baby Sea Turtles Spend 'Lost Years' in Sargasso Sea

Researchers used tracking tags to solve the mystery of where young green sea turtles go after they hatch on the beach

Explore the true history and myths behind six “terrible” women, from the all-knowing Sphinx to the fire-breathing Chimera and the lesser-known shapeshifter Lamia.

Men Have Feared Women for Millennia. Just Look at the Monsters of Greek Mythology

A new collection of essays considers how the villainous women of classical antiquity, from Medusa to the Sphinx, resonate in contemporary Western society

"Active sleep" only lasted 40 seconds but cycled after 30 to 40 minutes of "quiet sleep". These patterns are similar pattern to how mammals experience rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Like Humans and Mammals, Octopuses May Have Two Stages of Sleep

Scientists do not know if octopuses dream in color, but they do change color while sleeping

The researchers found that 3D tracking tags picked up circling movements in various animals including, king penguins, tiger sharks, whale sharks and a Cuvier's beaked whale.

Researchers Are Investigating Why Marine Animals Swim in Perplexing Circles

Sea creatures may exhibit the spiraling behavior to navigate the ocean, for mating rituals, or to track prey

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