Environmental DNA provides a wealth of information for conservationists, archaeologists and forensic scientists. But the unintentional pickup of human genetic information raises ethical questions.
Marine heat waves can reach the ocean floor as well as surface waters.
Sebastian Pena Lambarri via Unsplash
The discovery of the deepest fish in a Japanese trench raises the question, what else is out there? But before the mind leaps to all things dark and spooky, take a fresh look at life in the deep sea.
The ocean twilight zone could store vast amounts of carbon captured from the atmosphere, but first we need a 4D monitoring system to ensure ramping up carbon storage does no harm.
Roxanne Razavi, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Hadis Miraly, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Karin Limburg, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
A new study shows that a time stamp can be put on mercury that accumulates in fish eyes, offering a window into their lifetime exposure.
Hammerhead sharks schooling near Costa Rica’s Cocos Island.
John Voo/Flickr
A recent study offers evidence that marine biology’s biggest stage is broken, and suggests ways to fix it.
Researchers discovered five new species of black corals, including this Hexapathes bikofskii growing out of a nautilus shell more than 2,500 feet (760 meters) below the surface.
Jeremy Horowitz
Black corals provide critical habitat for many creatures that live in the dark, often barren, deep sea, and researchers are learning more about these rare corals with every dive.
Thousands of dead and dying crustaceans were found along Teesside’s coastlines last year.
FlorianKunde/Shutterstock
Our ocean forests of seaweed are enormous. But these quick-growing, life-supporting forests are already vanishing.
Whitetip sharks amid a school of anthias near Jarvis island in the South Pacific.
Kelvin Gorospe, NOAA/NMFS/Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Blog/Flickr
Sharks are much more severely threatened by humans than vice versa. A marine biologist explains how people can help protect sharks and why some strategies are more effective than others.
Bottlenose dolphins are extremely social animals that communicate constantly.
Micha Pawlitzki/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images
Using urine and signature whistles from other dolphins, a team of scientists has shown that dolphins use signature whistles like names and hold mental representations of other dolphins in their minds.
Soviet whalers manning mechanized harpoons in 1960.
Marka/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The Soviet Union was a latecomer to industrial whaling, but it slaughtered whales by the thousands once it started and radically under-reported its take to international monitors.
Sunscreens for sale at a Walgreens drug store.
Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Rising concern about possible environmental damage from the active ingredients in sunscreens could have ripple effects on public health if it causes people to use less of them.
Roaming the ancient seas eons ago, the megalodon shark eviscerated its prey with jaws that were 10 feet wide.
Warpaintcobra/iStock via Getty Images Plus
Frilled sharks haven’t changed for about 80 million years! And while they may look a bit like snakes from a distance, they are actually much more similar to other sharks close up.
The sound of the marine environment has been underestimated, mainly because it is not audible to the human ear.
(Shutterstock)
Thomas Uboldi, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)
The ocean is often considered a silent universe. But many recent studies highlight the importance of the soundscape for many marine species, both large and small.
Don’t call them tentacles: An octopus has eight arms.
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