Ocean Life
Whale sharks are on the move, but why?
Whale sharks are endangered, hard to track, and minimally protected, but thanks to a new tracking study and a lot more information, scientists have been able to monitor the movement of these gentle ocean giants.
Whales may owe their efficient digestion to millions of tiny microbes
A study by NSF-funded researchers at WHOI shows that the microbial communities inside whales may play an important role in the digestion of one of the ocean’s most abundant carbon-rich lipids: wax esters.
WHOI-engineered DISCO allows scientists to measure highly reactive superoxide on coral reefs
WHOI researchers successfully conceived and tested a portable device, DISCO, that performed the first in situ measurements of a highly reactive type of oxygen, known as superoxide, which may play an integral role in the health of coral reefs.
Read MoreThe Ocean Twilight Zone’s crucial carbon pump
When CO₂ enters the ocean, where does this heat-trapping gas go? WHOI geochemist investigates how much carbon from the surface ocean is dispatched to the ocean twilight zone–the midlayer of the ocean–and on to the deep ocean.
Read MoreClimate change threatens everyone’s favorite little fish
The well-being of the colorful clownfish of “Finding Nemo” fame is closely tied to its habitat among the sea anemone, according to a 10-year study by an international team of scientists. The little fish does not appear to have the ability to adapt to the rapid environmental effects of climate change.
Protecting living corals could help defend the Great Barrier Reef from ocean acidification for decades
Reefs with higher numbers of living corals will be more resilient than expected to damage from acidifying seawater, scientists reported recently in Nature Evolution and Ecology.
Offshore Wind May Help The Planet — But Will It Hurt Whales?
As whale populations have grown, the WCS and its collaborator, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, have been monitoring them, with an eye toward mediating conflicts with the ocean’s heaviest users: cargo ships, commercial fishing trawlers and the U.S. military.
Whales may owe their efficient digestion to millions of tiny microbes
A study by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that the microbial communities inside whales may play an important role in the digestion of one of the ocean’s most abundant carbon-rich lipids, known as a wax ester.
Read MoreRight whale population drops to 409, as consortium urges more action
“Yet another year of decline for right whales,” said Consortium Chairman and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researcher Mark Baumgartner.
These corals could survive climate change — and help save the world’s reefs
Ocean warming threatens to wipe out corals, but scientists are trying to protect naturally resilient reefs and are nursing some others back to health.
I spy a pilot whale
This spy-hopping adult female short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) was photographed offshore of Hawai‘i Island while checking out the Cascadia…
Read MoreClownfish can’t adapt to rapid environmental changes
The beloved anemone fish popularized by the movies “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory” don’t have the genetic capacity to adapt to rapid changes in their environment, according to a new study in the journal Ecology Letters.
Read MoreDoctoral Dissertation Defense of Thesis: Protein Regulation in Trichodesmium and Other Marine Bacteria: Observational and Interpretive Biomarkers of Biogeochemical Processes
Noelle Adriana Held, MIT-WHOI Joint Program Sponsored by: Academic Programs Office
Read MoreUnite and Conquer – How Eating Together Increases Biodiversity, Influences Biogeography, and Alters Biogeochemistry
Emil Ruff, MBL Sponsored by: Biology Department
Read MoreRed Sea ‘hotspot’ study reveals behaviors of whale sharks
A new study of whale shark movements near a known hotspot in the Red Sea sheds light on their behaviors and could help inform the conservation efforts of the largest known fish, which can reach lengths of 40 feet or more.
Read MoreSpecial Biology and AOP&E Seminar: DNA Screening Tools to Combat Timber and Wildlife Trafficking
Hal Holmes, Conservation X Labs Co-sponsored by: Biology and AOP&E Departments
Read MoreScientists meeting in Portland say right whales on the way to extinction
The future continues to grow ever darker for the highly endangered right whale, a species that has been in decline every year since 2010 and is at the heart of regulatory protection efforts threatening to upend Maine’s valuable lobster fishery.
SeaWorld & Busch Gardens conservation fund commits $900,000 to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales
The funding provided by the SeaWorld Conservation Fund will be primarily used to test alternative non-lethal fishing gear. Whales and sea turtles commonly entangle in ropes that connect crab or lobster traps on the sea floor to buoys on the sea surface.
Read MoreWhat Factors Affect Population Densities of the Asian Shore Crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus?
Nancy O’Connor, UMass Dartmouth Sponsored by: Biology Department
Read MoreIf alien life exists in our solar system, it may look like this
On September 19th, the research vessel, Kronprins Haakon, departed Longyearbyen, Svalbard headed toward the Aurora hydrothermal vent field, located along the Gakkel Ridge some 4000 meters below the arctic ice.
Searching for the limits of life: Taylor Heyl
A deep-sea biologist discusses her search for life in the deepest parts of our ocean, and why WHOI is the place she has chosen to carry out her research
Read MoreUnless warming is slowed, emperor penguins will be marching towards extinction
Emperor penguins are some of the most striking and charismatic animals on Earth, but a new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has found that a warming climate may render them extinct by the end of this century. The study, which was part of an international collaboration between scientists, published Nov. 7, 2019, in the journal Global Change Biology.
Read MoreConservation of Endangered Marine Species in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Randall Arauz, Migramar and Fins Attached Marine Research and Conservation Sponsored by: Biology Department
Read MoreFollowing the elusive sword
Satellite tags allow researchers to “see” how swordfish move in and out of the ocean twilight zone.
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