Marine Biology News

July 26, 2024

Top Headlines

Eyes for Love: Searching for Light and a Mate in the Deep, Dark Sea, Male Dragonfishes Grow Larger Eyes Than the Females They Seek

July 23, 2024 — The eyes of the male dragonfish grow larger for mate seeking, a sexual dimorphism that makes the dragonfish an anomaly in vertebrate evolution, researchers ...

Ecologists Discover Rare Fiddler Crab Species on Hong Kong Coast Highlighting the Impact of Climate Change and Coastal Development

July 22, 2024 — Researchers have made an exciting discovery on the Hong Kong coast. They have identified two fiddler crab species: Tubuca dussumieri, previously recorded in old literature but never confirmed in ...

The Ocean Is Becoming Too Loud for Oysters, Research Finds

July 24, 2024 — Baby oysters rely on natural acoustic cues to settle in specific environments, but new research reveals that noise from human activity is interfering with this critical ...

See Less to Move Better: Dynamic Schooling of Fish by Visual Selection and Focus

July 24, 2024 — Sometimes less is more. Researchers accurately modeled dynamic fish schooling by incorporating the tendency of fish to focus on a single visual target instead of the whole school, as well as other ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:41pm EDT

Researchers Record Images and Data of a Shark Experiencing a Boat Strike

July 24, 2024 — Researchers have captured what they believe is the first ever video of a shark or any large marine animal being struck by a ...

Whale Shark Tracked for Record-Breaking Four Years

July 24, 2024 — Researchers have been tracking a 26-foot endangered whale shark -- named 'Rio Lady' -- with a satellite transmitter for more than four years -- a record for whale sharks and one of the longest ...

Marine Protected Areas Producing More 'Trophy-Size' Fish, Research Finds

July 19, 2024 — Marine Protected Areas are having a positive spillover effect, producing more 'trophy-size' fish just outside of the fully protected areas, and the effect is growing stronger over time, according to ...

Taco-Shaped Arthropod Fossils Gives New Insights Into the History of the First Mandibulates

July 23, 2024 — Palaeontologists are helping resolve the evolution and ecology of Odaraia, a taco-shaped marine animal that lived during the Cambrian period. Fossils ...

Eco-Friendly Treatment Saves Squid Eggs from Newfound Parasite

July 22, 2024 — Raising squid in aquaculture has been a challenge that researchers have tried to address for many decades without meaningful success. Squid are highly sensitive to changes in water flow, are ...

The Courtship of Leopard Seals Off the Coast of South America

July 17, 2024 — A pioneering study has unveiled the first paired observations of sexual behavior and vocalizations in wild leopard seals. The study on the mysterious leopard seal represents a major advance in ...

The Most Endangered Fish Are the Least Studied

July 17, 2024 — The most threatened reef fishes are also the most overlooked by scientists and the general public. Scientists measured the level of human interest in 2,408 species of marine reef fish and found that ...

Reef Pest Feasts on 'Sea Sawdust'

July 17, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered an under the sea phenomenon where coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish larvae have been feasting on blue-green algae bacteria known as 'sea ...

Diatom Surprise Could Rewrite the Global Carbon Cycle

July 17, 2024 — When it comes to diatoms that live in the ocean, new research suggests that photosynthesis is not the only strategy for accumulating carbon. Instead, these single-celled plankton are also building ...

'Sacrifice' of Virus Data Clears the Path to Open a Disease Discovery Pipeline

July 9, 2024 — Tens of millions of still-unknown or misunderstood viruses can cause diseases -- including new pandemics -- and affect the health of valuable ...

Loss of Oxygen in Lakes and Oceans a Major Threat to Ecosystems, Society, and Planet

July 15, 2024 — Oxygen is a fundamental requirement of life, and the loss of oxygen in water, referred to as aquatic deoxygenation, is a threat to life at all levels. In fact, researchers describe how ongoing ...

Hatcheries Can Boost Wild Salmon Numbers but Reduce Diversity, Studies Find

July 11, 2024 — The ability of salmon hatcheries to increase wild salmon abundance may come at the cost of reduced diversity among wild salmon, according to a new ...

Urban Seagulls Still Prefer Seafood

July 11, 2024 — Seagull chicks raised on an 'urban' diet still prefer ...

A New Species of Extinct Crocodile Relative Rewrites Life on the Triassic Coastline

July 10, 2024 — The surprising discovery of a new species of extinct crocodile relative from the Triassic Favret Formation of Nevada, USA, rewrites the story of life along the coasts during the first act of the Age ...

The Detection of a Massive Harmful Algal Bloom in the Arctic Prompts Real-Time Advisories to Western Alaskan Communities

July 10, 2024 — A summer 2022 research cruise that detected a massive and highly toxic harmful algal bloom (HAB) in the Bering Strait has provided a dramatic example of science that utilized new technology to track ...

Whale Remains Tracked to Highlight Sustainable Disposal Benefits

July 10, 2024 — A new study highlights the sustainable, cultural and ecosystem benefits of offshore removal or decomposition of whale remains. The study tracked the remains of a humpback whale that was intercepted ...

Groundbreaking Study Reveals Oceanic Seabirds Chase Tropical Cyclones

July 9, 2024 — A new study reveals that the rare Desertas Petrels (Pterodroma deserta), a wide-ranging seabird in the North Atlantic, exhibit unique foraging behaviors during hurricane season. Contrary to other ...

Study Projects Major Changes in North Atlantic and Arctic Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change

July 8, 2024 — New research predicts significant shifts in marine fish communities in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans as a result of climate ...

Restored Oyster Sanctuaries Host More Marine Life

July 8, 2024 — Oysters sanctuaries in Chesapeake Bay are working for more than just oysters. Compared to nearby harvest areas, sanctuaries contain more abundant populations of oysters and other animal life--and the ...

Coral Reefs: Battlegrounds for Survival in a Changing Climate

July 8, 2024 — Coral reefs, those vibrant underwater cities, stand on the precipice of collapse. While rising ocean temperatures and coral bleaching grab headlines, a new essay reveals a hidden layer of complexity ...

Mighty Floods of the Nile River During Warmer and Wetter Climates

July 3, 2024 — Global warming as well as recent droughts and floods threaten large populations along the Nile Valley. Sediment cores off the Nile mouth reveal insights into the effects and causes of heavy rainfall ...

Giant Clams May Hold the Answers to Making Solar Energy More Efficient

July 2, 2024 — Solar panel and biorefinery designers could learn a thing or two from iridescent giant clams living near tropical coral reefs, according to a new study. This is because giant clams have precise ...

Ocean Acidification Turns Fish Off Coral Reefs

July 1, 2024 — A new study of coral reefs in Papua New Guinea shows ocean acidification simplifies coral structure, making crucial habitat less appealing to certain fish ...

Researchers Identify Unique Survival Strategies Adopted by Fish in the World's Warmest Waters

July 1, 2024 — A team of researchers have identified unexpected ways coral reef fish living in the warmest waters on earth, in the Arabian Gulf, have adapted to survive extreme ...

New Study Shows Mechanisms of Hagfish Burrowing Into Deep Sea Sediment

June 30, 2024 — Scientists have developed a novel way to observe the elusive burrowing behavior of hagfish. Scientists created a specialized tank of transparent gelatin in order to visualize how the hagfish behave ...

Climate Change to Shift Tropical Rains Northward

June 28, 2024 — Atmospheric scientists predict that unchecked carbon emissions will force tropical rains to shift northward in the coming decades, which would profoundly impact agriculture and economies near the ...

Ecologists Reconstruct the History of Biodiversity in the Indo-Australian Archipelago and Its Rise as a Hotspot

June 28, 2024 — The Coral Triangle, also known as the Indo-Australian Archipelago, is renowned for having the greatest marine biodiversity on our planet. Despite its importance, the detailed evolutionary history of ...

Projected Loss of Brown Macroalgae and Seagrasses With Global Environmental Change

June 27, 2024 — Researchers predict that climate change will drive a substantial redistribution of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. The projected changes are alarming due to the fundamental role ...

Ammonites' Fate Sealed by Meteor Strike That Wiped out Dinosaurs

June 27, 2024 — Ammonites were not in decline before their extinction, scientists have ...

Long-Standing Marine Mystery Solved: How Algae Get Nitrogen to Grow

June 27, 2024 — Scientists shed light on an unexpected partnership: A marine diatom and a bacterium that can account for a large share of nitrogen fixation in vast regions of the ocean. This symbiosis likely plays a ...