News Releases
Dolphins Assist Scientists Studying Effects of Data-logging Tags
For scientists studying marine mammals in the wild, data-logging tags are invaluable tools that allow them to observe animals’ movements and behaviors that are otherwise hidden beneath the waves much…
Read MoreSummer Shark Research Heats Up at WHOI
White shark tagging expedition sets sail (July 31), Discovery Channel Shark Week segment “The Return of Jaws” features WHOI’s REMUS technology (Aug. 5), and WHOI scientists and engineers share latest…
Read MoreCorals cozy up with bacterial buddies
Corals may let certain bacteria get under its skin, according to a new study by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology…
Read MoreScientists Find Possible Solution to an Ancient Enigma
The widespread disappearance of stromatolites, the earliest visible manifestation of life on Earth, may have been driven by single-celled organisms called foraminifera. The findings, by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic…
Read MoreStudy reveals how fishing gear can cause slow death of whales
Using a “patient monitoring” device attached to a whale entangled in fishing gear, scientists showed for the first time how fishing lines changed a whale’s diving and swimming behavior. The…
Read MoreScientists Use Marine Robots to Detect Endangered Whales
Two robots equipped with instruments designed to “listen” for the calls of baleen whales detected nine endangered North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of Maine last month. The robots…
Read MoreWHOI Research Projects Awarded $5.2 M to Support Marine Microbial Research
There are more microbes in a bucket of seawater than there are people on Earth. Despite their abundance, humans are only just beginning to fathom the complex role marine microbes…
Read MoreStudy Looks at Gray Seal Impact on Beach Water Quality
Scientists from the newly created Northwest Atlantic Seal Research Consortium (NASRC) are using data collected by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) to investigate whether seals may impact beach…
Read MoreNew Research Consortium Brings Scientists, Fishermen, and Managers Together to Address Seal Issues in the Northeast
People come from miles away to see the seals off the shores of Cape Cod and surrounding regions, but the animals are creating some challenges for local fishermen. Recent increases…
Read MoreFishing for Answers off Fukushima
Japan’s “triple disaster,” as it has become known, began on March 11, 2011, and remains unprecedented in its scope and complexity. To understand the lingering effects and potential public health…
Read MoreGenetic Patterns of Deep-Sea Coral Provide Insights into Evolution of Marine Life
The ability of deep-sea corals to harbor a broad array of marine life, including commercially important fish species, make these habitat-forming organisms of immediate interest to conservationists, managers, and scientists.…
Read MoreTracking Fish Through a Coral Reef Seascape
Ocean scientists have long known that juvenile coral reef fishes use coastal seagrass and mangrove habitats as nurseries, later moving as adults onto coral reefs. But the fishes’ movements, and…
Read MoreScientists Discover New Trigger for Immense North Atlantic Ocean Spring Plankton Bloom
On this July 4th week, U.S. beachgoers are thronging their way to seaside resorts and parks to celebrate with holiday fireworks. But across the horizon and miles out to sea…
Read MoreMelting Sea Ice Threatens Emperor Penguins, Study Finds
At nearly four feet tall, the Emperor penguin is Antarctica’s largest sea bird—and thanks to films like “March of the Penguins” and “Happy Feet,” it’s also one of the continent’s…
Read MoreScientists Discover Huge Phytoplankton Bloom in Ice Covered Waters
A team of researchers, including scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), discovered a massive bloom of phytoplankton beneath ice-covered Arctic waters. Until now, sea ice was thought to block…
Read MoreA ‘B-12 Shot’ for Marine Algae?
Studying algal cultures and seawater samples from the Southern Ocean off Antarctica, a team of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the J. Craig Venter Institute have revealed a key cog in the biochemical machinery that allows marine algae at the base of the oceanic food chain to thrive. They have discovered a previously unknown protein in algae that grabs an essential but scarce nutrient out of seawater, vitamin B12.
Read MorePacific Islands May Become Refuge for Corals in a Warming Climate, Study Finds
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 shows that climate change could cause ocean currents to operate in a surprising way and mitigate the warming near a handful of islands right on the equator. As a result these Pacific islands may become isolated refuges for corals and fish.
Read MoreStudy Amplifies Understanding of Hearing in Baleen Whales
For decades, scientists have known that dolphins and other toothed whales have specialized fats associated with their jaws, which efficiently convey sound waves from the ocean to their ears. But until now, the hearing systems of their toothless grazing cousins, baleen whales, remained a mystery, largely because specimens to study are hard to get. Now, a new study by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has shown that some baleen whales also have fats leading to their ears.
Read MoreWHOI Researchers, Collaborators Receive $1.4 Million to Study Life in Ocean’s Greatest Depths
Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), University of Hawaii, Whitman College and international colleagues will conduct the first systematic study of life in the deepest marine habitat on…
Read MoreWHOI Scientists Contribute to Study on Impact to Coral Communities from Deepwater Horizon Spill
Six scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have contributed to a new report finding “compelling evidence” that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has impacted deep-sea coral communities in the…
Read MoreNSF Announces Major Awards for Biodiversity Research, WHOI Scientists Selected
A WHOI-led project is one of several major awards recently announced by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Dimensions in Biodiversity research program. The multi-disciplinary, international collaborative effort will advance our understanding of deep-sea hydrothermal vent microbial communities and their global impact.
Read MoreStranded Dolphins Exhibit Bubbles, and Ability to Recover
In a study published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a team that includes researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has confirmed that bubbles do form in live, stranded dolphins. But in many cases, those animals are able to manage those bubbles and can resume relatively normal lives of swimming and diving in the ocean.
Read MoreBacterial Communication Could Affect Earth’s Climate
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists have discovered that bacterial communication could have a significant impact on the planetÃÂs climate.
Read MoreWHOI Teaming with Flatley Discovery Lab in Search for Effective Treatments for Cystic Fibrosis
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has signed a $1.18 million agreement with the Flatley Discovery Lab in Charlestown, Mass., to investigate and supply marine microbial extracts as possible treatments for cystic fibrosis (CF).
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