Ocean Life
Psychotherapy for Plankton
The scene: A diatom is out of its oceanic habitat and on a couch, talking to a therapist. The diatom is stressed. It can’t ever seem to get enough nutrients.…
Of Predators, Prey, and Petroleum
Protists are the Rodney Dangerfields of marine microbes. Although marine bacteria emerged as heroes in…
All the Pretty Jellyfish
<!– –> Pat Lohmann recently traveled to the tiny Western Pacific island nation of Palau…
Life and Death in the Deep Sea
It was an experiment they hoped would never happen. But when it did, they were…
Oil, Microbes, and the Risk of Dead Zones
In the scramble to get to the Gulf of Mexico to study the Deepwater Horizon…
Where the Food Is in the Sea, and Why
When you’re on a boat 50 miles south of Cape Cod on a calm day,…
Recycling Rare, Essential Nutrients in the Sea
In the vast ocean where an essential nutrient—iron—is scarce, a marine bacterium that launches the…
A Hunt for Unusual Seafloor Animals and Vents
The first expedition to search for deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Cayman Rise deep in…
What’s Living in the Ocean?
In 2010, as the United States conducted its latest decadal population census, marine scientists completed…
New Ways to Analyze Ocean Imagery
<!– –> Moore Foundation grant sparks ocean informatics initiative Over the past decade, ocean scientists…
Scientists Use “ESP” to Track Harmful Algae
Researchers in biologist Don Anderson’s lab are celebrating a new arrival—a gleaming, 3-foot-high robotic instrument…
Are Whales ‘Shouting’ to be Heard?
When we’re talking with friends and a truck rumbles by or someone cranks up the…
Microbes Hitch Rides on Plastics in the Sea
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,…
Volunteer Gets an Oceanful of Experience
<!– –> It’s two in the morning, and I’m watching a remotely operated vehicle, or…
Salps Catch the Ocean’s Tiniest Organisms
Salps are sometimes called “the ocean’s vacuum cleaners.” The soft, barrel-shaped, transparent animals take in…
A Torrent of Crabs Running to the Sea
Joanna Gyory’s Ph.D. plans changed completely when she saw the crabs. It was her third…
Bacterial ‘Conversations’ Have Impact on Climate
It’s wondrous how the vast and the infinitesimal combine to make our planet work. Scientists…
The Mysterious Movements of Deep-Sea Larvae
The marvelous migrations of fish and whales through the deep sea have been hard enough…
Dye Sheds Light on Jet-Propelled Salps
The boat loaded, we push off from shore. We are headed out for a nighttime…
Ocean Acidification: A Risky Shell Game
A new study has yielded surprising findings about how the shells of marine organisms might…