Biology
Eavesdropping on Shrimp’s Snap Chat
At Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, marine ecologist Ashlee Lillis is studying a tiny animal that makes one of the ocean’s loudest natural sounds. It’s called a snapping shrimp. The noise it makes dominates the underwater soundscape in many coastal regions and may have an outsized effect on other marine life.
Read MoreSome Fish Quickly Adapt to Lethal Levels of Pollution
Killifish living in four polluted East Coast estuaries have adapted to survive levels of toxic industrial pollutants that would normally kill them, tolerating concentrations up to 8,000 times higher than sensitive fish. A new study reveals the complex genetic basis for the Atlantic killifishÃÂÃÂÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs remarkable resilience.
Read MoreTo Track a Sea Turtle
A WHOI engineer and biologist devise an autonomous system to track and film sea turtles beneath the surface, revealing a turtle’s eye view of the world.
Read MoreNew 13-year Study Tracks Impact of Changing Climate on a Key Marine Food Source
A new multiyear study from scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has shown for the first time how changes in ocean temperature affect a key species of phytoplankton. The study, published in the October 21 issue of the journal Science, tracked levels of Synechococcus – a tiny bacterium common in marine ecosystems – near the coast of Massachusetts over a 13-year period. As ocean temperatures increased during that time, annual blooms of Synechococcus occurred up to four weeks earlier than usual because cells divided faster in warmer conditions, the study found.
Read MoreA Slithery Ocean Mystery
It’s an enduring mystery: How do tiny eel larvae make their way from the Sargasso Sea to coastal freshwater estuaries where they grow up?
Read MoreNo Stone Unturned
WHOI iologist Joel Llopiz is taking advantage of information stored in the tiny “ear stones” of larval and juvenile river herring to learn more about why the once-ubiquitous species is having difficulty re-populating lakes and streams in New England.
Read MoreScientists Now Listening for Whales in New York Waters With Real-time Acoustic Buoy
Scientists working for WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) New York Aquarium and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) now have an “ear” for the New York region’s biggest “voices and singers”‘ the whales of New York Bight.
Read MoreSwansea University Professor Receives Prestigious Fulbright Award to Study at WHOI
David Lamb, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Swansea University in Wales, will conduct research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) as part of an All Disciplines Scholar Fulbright AwardâÃÂÃÂone of the most prestigious and selective scholarship programs operating worldwide.
Read MoreShark Tales
Sharks are some of the largest fish in the ocean, but their movements and behavior have remained largely hidden from people.
Read MoreCrabs Swarm on the Seafloor
Expeditions to the tropics and Antarctica have turned up crab populations—for better or worse—in unexpected parts of the globe. At the Hannibal Bank Seamount, an 1,180-foot-high undersea mountain off Panana’s…
Read MoreTagging a Squishy Squid
For more than a decade, researchers have been tagging large marine mammals such as dolphins and whales to reveal their behavior. But tagging small, soft animals such as jellyfish and…
Read MoreThe Bottom of the Ocean On Top of Your Coffee Table
Here’s a way to journey to the seafloor without leaving your living room or classroom. Five deep-sea scientists have created a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated book that transports readers to Earth’s…
Read MoreIlluminating an Unexplored Undersea Universe
Twenty-five years ago, the Hubble Telescope was launched to look out to the vast darkness of outer space. It captured thousands of images of previously unknown stars, galaxies, and clouds…
Read MoreA New Eye on Deep-Sea Fisheries
Imagine that officials charged with setting deer-hunting limits had to assess the herd’s abundance by flying over forests at night. That’s a little like what the National Marine Fisheries Services…
Read MoreA New Whale Species Is Discovered in the Wild
Scientists have discovered a thriving population of Omura’s whales—a species that hadn’t even been identified until 2003 and had never before been documented in the wild. Omura’s whales were misidentified…
Read MoreSee Those Black Dots? They’re Penguins. Now Count Them.
That’s exactly what a team of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) did on a recent expedition to the Danger Islands off the Antarctic Peninsula. The islands are home…
Read MoreEndangered Whales Get a High-Tech Check-Up
Drones seem to be everywhere these days, from backyards to battlegrounds. Scientists are using them too: in this case, to assess the health of endangered North Atlantic right whales. Since drones are small and quiet, they can fly close to whales without disturbing them, bringing back incredibly detailed photographs and samples of microbe-rich blow.
Read MoreJourney Into the Ocean’s Microbiomes
Bacteria in the ocean, including pathogenic ones, often hitchhike on tiny crustaceans called copepods. A graduate student explored their complex relationships.
Read MoreRecipes for Antibiotic Resistance
MIT-WHOI graduate student Megan May is investigating how microbes naturally develop resistance to antibiotic compounds in the marine environment and how human activities, including overuse of drugs and pollution, may be affecting the dynamic.
Read MoreHABCAM
A towed underwater vehicle equipped with cameras, sonar, and sensors paints vivid portraits of life on the seafloor.
Read MoreSex, Games, and the Evolution of Gender Gaps
Population models can help us plan breeding programs for endangered species and understand the evolution of sex ratios.
Read MoreForecasting the Future of Fish
How can we weigh all the interrelated factors involved in managing a critical ocean resource? Oceanus magazine experiments with a graphic article to help explain a complex issue.
Read MoreTurtleCam
WHOI scientists create a robotic bloodhound to track and watch sea turtles in their inaccessible realm.
Read MoreSetting a Watchman for Harmful Algal Blooms
As harmful algal blooms are becoming more frequent and severe worldwide, researchers in the lab of WHOI biologist Don Anderson are testing an array of new instruments that can be…
Read More