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 six-year analysis of marine microbes in coastal California waters has overturned long-held assumptions about how the ocean's smallest organisms interact.
Ecology
Jan 21, 2026
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18
Tidal turbines harbor the potential to provide a natural, inexhaustible source of power, but have faced some regulatory hurdles and scientific uncertainty about risks to marine life.
Whales, dolphins and other marine mammals are highly social, but those social ties can also help diseases spread through populations of rare or threatened species.
Plants & Animals
Jan 16, 2026
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36
Oregon State University research into marine protected areas plays a crucial role in the historic High Seas Treaty that goes into effect Jan. 17.
Environment
Jan 15, 2026
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23
An international team of scientists has developed ways to measure and compare the impact of "darkwaves"—when extreme weather events or human activities reduce underwater light for extended periods, affecting the stability ...
Ecology
Jan 13, 2026
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66
Researchers examined the diet and plastic ingestion of green sea turtles inhabiting waters around the Ogasawara Islands, Japan, and detected plastics in 7 of the 10 individuals studied. By integrating genetic, isotopic, and ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 11, 2026
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36
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), has launched the world's first Deep Ocean Omics (DOO) database.
Ecology
Dec 22, 2025
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16
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have already leveraged the vast troves of geolocation data from vessel-tracking systems to pinpoint where whales and other large marine species are endangered by ship ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 22, 2025
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30
Marine bacteria are key to determining whether carbon is recycled near the ocean surface or transported to deeper waters, but many operate in constant threat of being infected by viruses called phages, and mutate to fend ...
Ecology
Dec 19, 2025
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29
Dive in and meet some of the most stunning deep-sea animals that MBARI encountered in 2025. This year, our team spotted ultra-black fishes, sinuous siphonophores, curious crabs, spectacular sponges, and so many more dazzling ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 19, 2025
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26
