Skip to content

Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

To Find Whales, Follow Their Food

To Find Whales, Follow Their Food

January 20, 2006

The average adult right whale consumes about a ton of food a day, eating billions of tiny crustaceans called copepods that are packed with protein and calorie-rich oils. “To whales, copepods are juicy, greasy Big Macs, in a really small…

Diving into the Right Whale Gene Pool

January 19, 2006

Like forensic detectives, a multi-institutional team of scientists has followed a thread of DNA from the highly endangered right whale population across the oceans and back through generations.

Doing the Right Thing for the Right Whale

January 17, 2006

The situation is urgent: Seventy years after whaling was banned, the North Atlantic right whale population has not recovered. Only 300 to 350 remain, and the species is headed toward extinction. The threats remain dire: Right whales are frequently struck…

Scientific (and Surfing) Safari

Scientific (and Surfing) Safari

October 24, 2005

Eric Montie has a great tan, photos of huge waves taped above his computer, and a penchant for grabbing his short board and racing to the beach at a moment’s notice. He is—undeniably—a surfer dude. But watch him spend hours at…

A Mysterious Disease Is Infecting Northeast Clam Beds

A Mysterious Disease Is Infecting Northeast Clam Beds

October 17, 2005

Scientists follow clues to the mysterious disease that is killing off clams on Cape Cod and along the Eastern Seaboard.

News Releases

CUREE autonomous underwater vehicle

Autonomous underwater robot discovers hidden coral reef “hotspots”

May 13, 2026

New underwater robot opens new possibilities in coral reef conservation by autonomously identifying biodiversity “hotspots”

Industrial fishing has been depleting midwater fish for decades, new WHOI study finds

May 8, 2026

The research focuses on a poorly understood group of larger midwater fishes that the authors call the “dark web,” species, such as pomfrets and snake mackerels.

New WHOI study cautions that deep-sea fishing could undermine valuable tuna fisheries

January 27, 2026

The study shows that large-scale harvesting of mesopelagic fish that live hundreds of meters below the surface could reduce the food available to bigeye tuna

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and CMA CGM expand their partnership

January 27, 2026

CMA CGM, which has long been committed to preserving biodiversity through multiple initiatives in the U.S. and worldwide, will support two key WHOI projects

Seawater microbes offer new, non-invasive way to detect coral disease, WHOI-led study finds

January 20, 2026

Coral reefs support more than 25 percent of all marine life and underpin the livelihoods of roughly one billion people globally.

News & Insights

Florida’s ocean economy depends on science

August 29, 2025

WHOI’s Dennis McGillicuddy on why ocean life matters deeply to the Sunshine State

Valentine’s Day Courtship Tips from the Ocean

February 10, 2025

Are you an ocean lover? Go a little deeper with these courtship tips from beneath the waves!

Recognizing Massachusetts Right Whale Day

April 24, 2023

April 24 marks the first-ever Right Whale Day in Massachusetts. WHOI biologist and veterinarian Michael Moore recently met with the resident who brought this special recognition about– and explains why it’s important to raise awareness about the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Getting Smaller, New Research Finds

June 10, 2021

A report out this week in Current Biology reveal that critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are up to three feet shorter than 40 years ago. This startling conclusion reinforces what scientists have suspected: even when entanglements do not lead directly to the death of North Atlantic right whales, they can have lasting effects on the imperiled population that may now number less than 400 animals. Further, females that are entangled while nursing produce smaller calves.

right whales

Rare Drone video shows critically endangered North Atlantic right whales

May 10, 2021

May 10, 2021   During a joint research trip on February 28 in Cape Cod Bay, Mass., WHOI whale trauma specialist Michael Moore, National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry, and scientists from New England Aquarium, witnessed a remarkable biological event: North…

Scroll To Top