Multimedia Items
Coral Reef Fish
Tracking reef fish
An orange anemonefish (Amphiprion sandaracinos) hides among sea anemones at a reef off Restoff Island in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. In April 2005, WHOI biologist Simon Thorrold and colleagues…
Read MoreTracking reef fish larvae
A spine-cheek anemonefish (Premnas biaculeatus), or maroon clownfish, swims along a coral reef in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. As part of an international collaboration, WHOI biologist Simon Thorrold and…
Read MoreCoral reef deterioration stages
Coral reef deterioration stages. Healthy corals support healthy marine ecosystems, but corals are in crisis on many fronts. High levels of carbon dioxide are warming ocean waters and causing them…
Read MoreGive Reefs a Chance
Coral reefs play a vital role in sustaining the health of our ocean and our planet, and they are dying at an alarming rate. But right now, WHOI researchers are jumping into action to develop real-time and scalable solutions–measuring chemicals to determine coral health, understanding how fish sounds may be the key to rebuilding impacted reefs, and innovating robotics to monitor and detect coral stress and disease, before it is too late. If we want to save coral reefs, we need to act now. We need to give reefs a chance!
Read MoreSounds of the Reef
Engineer Rod Catanach sets up a four-channel acoustic recorder to measure coral reef soundscapes—a combination of biological and non-biological sounds produced by everything from fish to waves—during field work in…
Read MoreFish Chatter
To our ears coral reefs may seem relatively quiet, but fish there make a variety of sounds that are often described by scientists as grunts, pops, chirps, hoots and more.…
Read MoreMulti-Pronged Coral Reef Research
WHOI scientist Amy Apprill led an first-of-its kind joint expedition with Cuban and American scientists in November 2017 to study the Gardens of the Queens in Cuba, one of the most untouched and unknown coral…
Read MoreHoming in on Reef Homes
Justin Suca holds a translucent young mantis shrimp off the Caribbean island of St. John where he does field work. Suca, a graduate student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in…
Read MoreFertile Reef
A spine-cheek anemonefish (Premnas biaculeatus), or maroon clownfish, swims along a coral reef in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. As part of an international collaboration, WHOI biologist Simon Thorrold and researchers…
Read MoreEavesdropping on the Reefs
In two recent studies, WHOI scientists demonstrated an new way to assess the health of coral reefs and to monitor threats on remote atolls: They used low-cost underwater recorders designed…
Read MoreReef Indicator
The blackbacked butterflyfish (Chaetodon melannotus) often feeds on soft corals. During a trip to the Farasan Banks in the Saudi Arabian waters of the Red Sea in 2009, WHOI biologist…
Read MoreReef as Refuge
Scientists have predicted that ocean temperatures will rise in the equatorial Pacific by the end of the century, wreaking havoc on coral reef ecosystems. But a new study published by Woods…
Read MoreREMUS Reef Reconnaissance
In order to design marine preserves that best protect fish, conservationists need to know more about where and how fish move from their larval to adult stages. In 2006, WHOI…
Read MoreHome on the Reef
A pink anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion) looks out from the tentacles of its home, a big anemone in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, where WHOI fish ecologist Simon Thorrold has a…
Read MoreSearching for snapper fish
MIT/WHOI Joint Program graduate student Kelton McMahon (front) and WHOI research assistant Leah Houghton enter a large underwater cavern on a Red Sea coral reef off Alith, Saudi Arabia in…
Read MoreRed Sea reef
Reef-building corals create habitats for many other organisms. The coral reefs of the Red Sea are highly diverse and unique in the world, providing shelter and sustenance for abundant fishes…
Read MoreSearching for snapper fish
MIT/WHOI Joint Program graduate student Kelton McMahon (front) and WHOI research assistant Leah Houghton enter a large underwater cavern on a Red Sea coral reef off Alith, Saudi Arabia in…
Read MoreReef’s edge
An inflatable boat and dive-tour operators stand by at a coral reef’s edge in the Red Sea, where WHOI scientists are studying the unique, pristine reef ecosystems along Saudi Arabia’s…
Read MoreRed Sea reef
Reef-building corals create habitats for many other organisms. The corals reefs of the Red Sea are highly diverse and unique in the world, providing shelter and sustenance for abundant fishes…
Read MoreHome on the reef
An orange clownfish (Amphiprion percula) peeks out from the protection of sea anemones on a reef in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Clownfish are the focal species in ongoing research…
Read MoreProtecting fish nurseries
Juvenile coral reef fish get food and protection from predators among the roots and nutrient-rich waters of coastal mangrove swamps. These valuable fish nurseries are disappearing at an alarming rate.…
Read MoreReef Watch
A clownfish swims amid the corals of the Red Sea, where WHOI researchers are planning to team with colleagues from Saudi Arabia to examine a reef system that has mostly…
Read MoreCorals Under Threat
A large school of bigeye trevally swim past a submarine carrying WHOI scientists descending in Cabu Pulmo National Park on the east coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. Overfishing had decimated…
Read More