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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Sonic Sharks

April 23, 2025

The predators may not be a silent as once thought

A rare black seadevil anglerfish sees the light

March 20, 2025

A viral video shows a denizen of the ocean’s twilight zone making an unusual trip to the surface

How will we ever count them all?

January 30, 2025

WHOI biologist Francesco Ventura recounts a conservation win for sea turtles in remote Guinea-Bissau

Five marine animals that call shipwrecks home

January 23, 2025

One man’s sunken ship is another fish’s home? Learn about five species that have evolved to thrive on sunken vessels

zoo

Deep-sea amphipod name inspired by literary masterpiece

December 19, 2024

Name pays tribute to Cervantes’ Don Quixote and reinforces themes of sweetness and beauty

News Releases

WHOI Scientist Collaborates with Falmouth High School Art Students

May 21, 2014

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) biologist Dr. Rebecca Gast and Falmouth (Mass.) High School art teacher Jane Baker have teamed up to bring the excitement of polar research to Falmouth art students. Gast met with Baker’s Art Two and Advanced…

Caswell

Caswell Selected for Mindel C. Sheps Award

May 16, 2014

The Population Association of America (PAA) selected biologist Hal Caswell of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to receive the 2014 Mindel C. Sheps Award for his contributions to mathematical demography. The PAA is the major professional society devoted to the study of human populations. The prestigious honor is awarded to one scientist biennially on the basis of important contributions to knowledge either in the form of a single piece of work or a continuing record of high achievement.

Scientists Test Hearing in Bristol Bay Beluga Whale Population

May 14, 2014

The ocean is an increasingly industrialized space. Shipping, fishing, and recreational vessels, oil and gas exploration and other human activities all increase noise levels in the ocean and make it more difficult for marine mammals to hear and potentially diminish…

New Sensor Array to Monitor Impacts of Changing Gulf of Maine Conditions on New England Red Tide

May 7, 2014

Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are kicking off an innovative NOAA-funded pilot program using robotic instruments and computer modeling analysis to shed light on changing ocean conditions in the Gulf of Maine as they relate to the harmful algal bloom (HAB) phenomenon commonly known as the New England red tide.

New Study Finds Extreme Longevity in White Sharks

January 8, 2014

Great white sharks—top predators throughout the world’s ocean—grow much slower and live significantly longer than previously thought, according to a new study led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). In the first successful radiocarbon age validation study for adult white sharks, researchers analyzed vertebrae from four females and four males from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Age estimates were up to 73 years old for the largest male and 40 years old for the largest female.

News & Insights

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…

Unicorns of the Arctic face a new potential threat

December 1, 2020

Narwhals and other marine mammals could be vulnerable to a new threat we’ve become all too familiar with: COVID-19