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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

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

amphipod

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

COP

The case for preserving deep-sea biodiversity

November 7, 2024

WHOI biologist Annette Govindarajan offers her takeaways from the COP16 UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Colombia

Tracking big fish at fine scales

October 9, 2024

Scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution track how shortbill spearfish take advantage of local ocean currents when foraging.

News Releases

Squid

A new tagging method for fragile marine species

April 16, 2024

Newly developed bioadhesive sensors (BIMS) are effective and less invasive than traditional tagging. Scientists can attach them with a thin layer of dried-hydrogel in less than 20 seconds.

Stony Coral Tissue Disease

Study: eDNA methods give a real-time look at coral reef health

April 5, 2024

Researchers from WHOI studied the microbes in coral reef water by examining eight reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands over a period of seven years, which included periods of hurricane and coral disease disturbance.

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…

News & Insights

Valentine’s Day Courtship Tips from the Ocean

February 10, 2025

Five courtship tips from ocean lovers By Brady Clarke | February 10, 2025 Looking for new ways to woo your Valentine? Go beneath the surface with these courtship tips from beneath the waves! 1) Fuse bodies This small (about 7.5-centimeter),…

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