marine biology

Sea otters are born with a supercharged metabolism that helps them stay warm in chilly waters.

The first evidence of biologically produced elemental carbon inspires more questions than answers.  

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

A study of feeding behavior suggests the fish feed differently in front of their partners—a behavioral feature also found in primates.

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.

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.

Microscopic creatures called epibionts that live on sea turtles’ shells can help researchers understand their secretive lives.

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.

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.

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.

Single-cell RNA sequencing helps to catalog the dozens of cell types present in a stony coral, including its elusive immune cells.

For the first time, scientists tracked large shark movements during hurricanes and found that tiger sharks may find the turmoil opportunistic for feeding.

A tidy-up of a New Zealand storage room led to the sale of naming rights for three new-to-science Galápagos Islands species.

Scientists suspect the gall-forming protist Maullinia hitches a ride on kelp rafts to reach new host populations at far-flung sites.

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.

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.

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.

Volunteers have been working around the clock to rescue the animals found stunned on the beach.

By analyzing how fin whale calls bounce off the seafloor, scientists can recreate ocean crust layers.

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.