Benthic ecosystems are ecological systems associated with the bottom substrates of aquatic environments, including marine, estuarine, and freshwater habitats, where organisms inhabit or interact with sediments, hardgrounds, or biogenic structures. They encompass diverse communities such as infauna, epifauna, demersal fishes, microphytobenthos, and benthic microbial assemblages that mediate key biogeochemical processes, including organic matter remineralization, nutrient regeneration, and sediment–water fluxes. Benthic ecosystems are structured by gradients in depth, hydrodynamics, sedimentology, oxygen availability, and resource inputs, and they play critical roles in carbon cycling, secondary production, habitat provision, and the coupling of pelagic and sedimentary processes within broader aquatic food webs and ecosystem functioning.
Glittery sea worms and sea squirts fit for "The Lord of the Rings" universe might sound like pure fantasy, but they're very real creatures living in the deep sea. Some of these otherworldly ocean animals are even featured ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 20, 2026
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Every animal carries a microscopic community of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes that play a critical role in health. These gut microbes help regulate the immune system, support digestion, and even influence how animals ...
Ecology
Mar 13, 2026
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61
Somewhere in the North Atlantic, more than a kilometer beneath its surface, a cold-water coral reef stretches across an unnamed seamount. Despite never appearing on a chart, this underwater forest has existed for centuries, ...
Ecology
Mar 9, 2026
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23
Under the Arctic sea ice, fish and plankton live in complete darkness, even in midsummer. Ice floes stop the sun's rays, especially if they are covered by snow. As the ocean heats up, the sea ice thaws, and new regions are ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 9, 2026
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146
The growth form of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is composed of shoots known as stipes instead of branches. From one parent holding fast to the hard bottom might come as many as 150 stipes. Typically, the tips of the ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
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32
New Zealand's earlier efforts to safeguard marine or coastal environments, particularly as marine reserves and marine protected areas, typically focused on shallow ecosystems, largely because that is where most data exists.
Ecology
Feb 27, 2026
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18
Simon Fraser University researchers have uncovered fiberglass contamination in a key estuary on Vancouver Island, raising concerns about how an as-yet-overlooked contaminant could affect aquatic birds, marine life and coastal ...
Ecology
Feb 24, 2026
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23
When we dream of landscapes, we might imagine rolling valleys or rugged mountains. But there is a whole landscape hidden from human view: the secret world of the seafloor.
Earth Sciences
Feb 22, 2026
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57
The Baltic Sea is one of the world's most oxygen-depleted major bodies of water. The reason is excessive concentrations of phosphorus, an element essential for life—and an important ingredient in fertilizer. New research ...
Biotechnology
Feb 22, 2026
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20
EU researchers are developing AI-guided robot fleets to take over the dangerous, dirty work of finding and removing marine litter from the sea floor. A ship with a crane floats in the Mediterranean sun at a marina in Marseille, ...
Environment
Feb 20, 2026
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