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.
Most seals give birth to a pup around the same time each year, and wean them and send them on their way within 12 months in an annual cycle.
Plants & Animals
Feb 10, 2026
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For many years, the deep ocean has been seen as a nutrient-poor environment where microbes living in the water survive on very limited resources. But new research from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) challenges that ...
Ecology
Feb 9, 2026
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Oysters famously filter their surrounding water, but it turns out they are removing more than algae and excess nutrients. New research from William & Mary's Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS shows they can ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 4, 2026
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Artificial light from major coastal cities can disrupt the nighttime biology of sharks, according to new research that provides the first-ever measurements of melatonin—a hormone tied to biological rhythms—in wild sharks.
Plants & Animals
Feb 3, 2026
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A group of ocean bacteria long considered perfectly adapted to life in nutrient-poor waters may be more vulnerable to environmental change than scientists realized. The bacteria, known as SAR11, dominate surface seawater ...
Ecology
Jan 30, 2026
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In the realm of marine biogeography, there is a widely held scientific principle: the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans are worlds apart. If you dive in Brazil and then in Okinawa, you expect to see entirely different groups ...
Evolution
Jan 30, 2026
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Scientists on a research vessel off the central California coast spotted a waved albatross, marking just the second recorded sighting of the bird north of Central America.
Plants & Animals
Jan 30, 2026
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A hunk of romaine was easy pickings for Porkchop and her three flippers. On a rainy day last week, the green sea turtle pumped her limbs and stretched her beak up to chomp a lettuce leaf floating on the surface of a tank ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 29, 2026
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Researchers have just published a study demonstrating that the flying gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans) emits sounds while simultaneously performing movements to communicate—a discovery that enriches our knowledge about ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 29, 2026
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Cheers rose from a bundled-up crowd as a loggerhead sea turtle that survived a likely shark attack trundled back into the ocean after months of rehabilitation in Florida, carrying a satellite tracker to see how she fares ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 28, 2026
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