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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Jane Ruckert, a technical diver

From ruin to reef

January 27, 2026

What Pacific wrecks are teaching us about coral resilience—and pollution

One researcher, 15,000 whistles: Inside the effort to decode dolphin communications

January 21, 2026

Scientists at WHOI analyze thousands of dolphin whistles to explore whether some sounds may function like words

A new underwater robot could help preserve New England’s historic shipwrecks

December 1, 2025

WHOI’s ResQ ROV to clean up debris in prominent marine heritage sites

WHOI reef solutions field team

Inside the Solomon Islands’ hidden mega coral — a 300-year-old ocean giant

November 19, 2025

WHOI’s Reef Solutions team journeys to the world’s largest coral colony

Heidi Sosik

The little big picture

November 6, 2025

WHOI senior biologist Heidi Sosik on the critical need for long-term ocean datasets

News Releases

Suzi Clark

Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health Receives Additional Five Years of Funding

April 19, 2024

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and National Science Foundation (NSF) have announced that the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will receive funding to continue operating the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health (WHCOHH).

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.

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…

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