Skip to content

Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Leslie Henderson and Blake Gardner, divers with the C.O.R.E. St. Croix Coral Strike Team, use syringes to apply an amoxicillin paste to a section of affected pillar coral off the coast of St. Croix. (Photo by Jason Quetel, © VI-DAC)

An aquatic outbreak

September 1, 2022

Stony coral tissue loss disease continues devastating Caribbean reefs. Here’s what we know about it so far

A pregnant woman in a pink dress lifts a female toddler in a pink dress while a man in a black coast and white pants smiles at them. They are on a sunny beach with buildings, mountains and the ocean in the background.

The Power of Super Reefs

August 18, 2022

Jessica […]

Edie Widder: A light in the darkness

July 29, 2022

By sharing her fascination with the luminous deep, explorer, author, and conservationist Edie Widder sheds light on why it matters.

Starlet sea anemone

A toxic double whammy for sea anemones

July 11, 2022

Exposure to both oil and sunlight can be harmful to sea anemones

Shellfish farming

Invasive tunicates have shellfish farmers crying “foul”

June 30, 2022

As shellfish farmers struggle with invasive tunicate invasions, scientists are trying to gain insight into the thermal tolerances for these strange critters and determine where they might show up next

News Releases

Degraded coral

Sonic Youth: Healthy Reef Sounds Increase Coral Settlement

March 13, 2024

Researchers at WHOI demonstrated that replaying healthy reef sounds could potentially be used to encourage coral larvae to recolonize damaged or degraded reefs.

Aerial Imagery of Penguins

High Resolution Imagery Advances the Ability to Monitor Decadal Changes in Emperor Penguin Populations

March 13, 2024

High resolution satellite imagery and field-based validation surveys have provided the first multi-year time series documenting emperor penguin populations.

Fin Whale

New Research Reveals: The New York Bight Is an Important Year-Round Habitat for Endangered Fin Whales

February 15, 2024

Researchers aim to use their science to help inform best practices and strategies to better protect fin whales in waters off NY and NJ

Woods Hole, Mass. – The New York Bight is an important year-round habitat for endangered fin whales, […]

Scientists Discover Additional Healthy Deep-sea Coral Reefs and New Seamounts in the Galápagos

November 1, 2023

Stunning 800 meter-long coral reef discovered with Schmidt Ocean Institute’s underwater robot off Galápagos Islands

Puerto Ayora, Ecuador- Scientists examining underwater cliff ecosystems onboard research vessel Falkor(too) using the 4,500 meter robot, ROV SuBastian, have discovered two pristine coral reefs in […]

Florida coral reef

Innovative Techniques Provide New Means to Monitor Coral Reef Health

September 21, 2023

These new techniques, which look at microbes and dissolved metabolites of reefs, offer a new means to examine reef features and have broad conservation applications.

News & Insights

Predatory fish could lose 40 percent of habitat by 2100, study finds

August 9, 2023

Shark superpowers, science, and social media

July 27, 2023

MIT-WHOI Joint Program student Jaida Elcock celebrates Shark Week and shark awareness in this Q&A

Life In the Dark: The Polar Night

July 5, 2023

At the northernmost year-round research station in the world, scientists brave frigid temperatures and perpetual night to solve an ocean mystery. The team is trying to figure out how some of the tiniest animals survive at a time of year when their main food source is not available.

Deep Sea Parasites Flourishing in Marine Ecosystems

June 29, 2023

WHOI’s Jaida Elcock and Lauren Dykman explain why parasites may be a sign of ocean health

Dolphin moms use baby talk with their young

June 29, 2023