Marine biology is the scientific discipline that investigates the biology of organisms inhabiting marine and brackish environments, encompassing molecular to ecosystem scales. It examines physiological, genetic, and behavioral adaptations to saline conditions, pressure, light regimes, and hydrodynamics, as well as population dynamics, trophic interactions, and biogeochemical roles of marine taxa from microbes to megafauna. Marine biologists employ field surveys, experimental manipulations, remote sensing, and omics-based approaches to quantify biodiversity patterns, primary production, nutrient cycling, and responses to natural and anthropogenic stressors, thereby informing ecosystem modeling, conservation strategies, and management of living marine resources.
A new species of bacteria has been discovered off the coast of Oʻahu, shedding light on how unseen microbial life connects Hawaiʻi's land and sea ecosystems.
Ecology
Oct 16, 2025
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130
As dawn broke over San Juan Island, a team of scientists stood on the deck of a barge and unspooled over a mile of fiber-optic cable into the frigid waters of the Salish Sea. Working by headlamp, they fed the line from the ...
Ecology
Oct 16, 2025
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29
New research has unraveled the mystery of how microscopic cilia coordinate to move and propel marine creatures through water.
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 15, 2025
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20
Earth's vast oceanic biodiversity remains largely unexplored, with only a fraction of an estimated two million total living marine species formally named and described. A significant challenge is the protracted delay, often ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 15, 2025
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51
Many marine species are no strangers to the depths of the oceans. Some animals, like certain sharks, tuna, or turtles, routinely perform extreme dives, whereas for other species, such behavior has been observed less frequently.
Plants & Animals
Oct 15, 2025
0
174
Most people are lucky to simply get a glimpse of some fragment of a whale. A subtle puff of mist over the horizon, the curve of a dark smooth back sliding beneath the surface, or for the fortunate, the flash of a tail or ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 9, 2025
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23
Crews used large nets, water-filled containers and box trucks to relocate hundreds of river otters, sea turtles, manatees, penguins and sharks to their new home: Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium.
Ecology
Oct 7, 2025
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31
On a spit of sand 12 miles north of Santa Cruz, a small, emaciated sea lion lay on its side. The only sign of life was the deep press of its flippers against its belly, relaxing for a few seconds, then squeezing again.
Ecology
Oct 6, 2025
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50
One of the most heartbreaking occurrences for nature lovers is to discover a beached marine mammal such as a dolphin or whale. If the animal is still alive, marine biologists assisted by citizen volunteers try to protect ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 2, 2025
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47
Snailfish living in deep-sea trenches in the Pacific and Indian oceans may have wider geographic distributions than previously thought, according to a researcher at The University of Western Australia.
Plants & Animals
Sep 30, 2025
0
19
