Benthic Life
Light micrograph of the benthic foraminifer Nonionella stella, which thrives in anoxic sulfidic sediments far below the euphotic zone. Individuals are ~225 microns in diameter. Image credit: J.M. Bernhard.
News & Insights
Imagining Home: scientist’s stay in the Arctic extended by coronavirus
WHOI biologist Carin Ashjian is aboard the icebreaker Polarstern in the Arctic as part of the year-long MOSAiC research expedition. She should be almost home by now. Instead, her stay has been extended by COVID19.
Finding medical answers in the ocean
The test being used to diagnose the novel coronavirus—and other pandemics like AIDS and SARS—was developed with the help of an enzyme isolated from a microbe found in marine hydrothermal vents as well as freshwater hot springs.
Falling in love with foraminifera
A marine geobiologist falls for the ‘brains’ and beauty of an ancient single-celled creature that can change its shell into a variety of geometric shapes.
How do you study marine metamorphosis?
Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser is a marine benthic ecologist, whose primary research focus is on how invertebrates establish themselves along the seafloor.
Seal Spy
Drones helps WHOI scientist measure the body mass of mother and pup seals during lactation
News Releases
New study provides insight into how some species thrive in dark, oxygen-free environments
New Deep-Sea Worm Discovered at Methane Seep Off Costa Rica Named after Alvin Pilot Bruce Strickrott
Scientists Discover Additional Healthy Deep-sea Coral Reefs and New Seamounts in the Galápagos
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WHOI in the News
Unexpected new species discovered in a deep-sea hydrothermal vent provides a deeper understanding of bacterial evolution
Scientists discover a labyrinth of life hidden in the deep
Under a hellish ocean habitat, bizarre animals are lurking
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From Oceanus Magazine
Cold, quiet, and carbon-rich: Investigating winter wetlands
A hydrologist takes on a groundbreaking study to understand how groundwater moves through New England salt marshes in the winter.
Five marine animals that call shipwrecks home
One man’s sunken ship is another fish’s home? Learn about five species that have evolved to thrive on sunken vessels
The 10,000-foot view
WHOI’s Tom Bell tracks changes to vulnerable coastal ecosystems with aerial imagery
A cascade of life
The power of conservation, as seen through the lens of award-winning ocean photographer Henley Spiers
5 unlikely ocean friendships
How certain marine species keep each other safe, fed, and healthy through symbiosis
Features
Ocean ecosystems are found in polar regions, coastal waters, coral reefs, hydrothermal vents, the abyssal plain, and at the bottom…
By human standards, they are extreme environments. Yet life not only persists in the poles...it thrives.
Hydrothermal vents and cold seeps are places where chemical-rich fluids emanate from the seafloor, often providing the energy to sustain…
The narrow region where land and ocean meet includes salt marshes, mangroves, wetlands, estuaries, reefs, and bays often linked in…
Coastal Ecosystems 
Life at Vents & Seeps 
Polar Life