Tag

Marine Biology

All articles tagged with #marine biology

science1 day ago•3 min saved

Open-ocean buffet: what draws great whites to the White Shark Café

Researchers tracing great white shark migrations found that the so-called White Shark Café, a remote open-ocean corridor between Baja California and Hawaii, hosts a surprisingly rich deep-water food web. In 2018, a voyage equipped with advanced tags revealed abundant life at depths satellites can’t reach, suggesting the area serves as a feeding and possibly mating ground. The discovery turns the Café from a mythical ‘desert’ into a real ecological hotspot, underscoring the need for protection of high-seas habitats.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|

#great-white-sharks #marine-biology #migration

science2 days ago•2 min saved

Huge Wolf Eels Spotted in the Salish Sea, Up to Eight Feet Long

Video by diver John Roney from the Salish Sea shows a giant wolf eel—an actual fish that can reach up to eight feet long. Though called eels, wolf eels have pectoral fins behind the head and are not true eels. Adults are gray and rugged, while juveniles appear bright orange with a honeycomb pattern. One observed eel sported a healed mouth wound from an urchin spine, fitting their diet of sea urchins and highlighting the striking size difference between young and adults.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|

#fish-anatomy #marine-biology #salish-sea

science6 days ago•5 min saved

Sesame Street-inspired ghost pipefish Solenostomus snuffleupagus described

Scientists have described Solenostomus snuffleupagus, a tiny orange ghost pipefish named after Sesame Street's Mr. Snuffleupagus for its uncanny resemblance. The 4–5 cm predator, found on coral reefs in the southwestern Pacific, was first spotted in 2003 near Papua New Guinea and re-found in 2021 on the Great Barrier Reef; CT scans and iNaturalist sightings from Tonga, PNG and New Caledonia support its status, with the new species described in Fish Biology.

via CBC|

#ghost-pipefish #marine-biology #new-species

science8 days ago•3 min saved

Ocean Census Sees Record 1,121 New Marine Species in One Year

The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census reports 1,121 newly identified marine species in a single year—a 54% rise—built from 13 expeditions and nine discovery workshops, including corals, crabs, shrimps, sea urchins, anemones, a 'Ghost Shark' chimaera and a Mediterranean shrimp. The findings underscore vast undiscovered ocean biodiversity and the urgency of cataloging species before extinction, noting that up to 90% of ocean life remains undiscovered and averaging 13.5 years between discovery and formal description.

via ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos|

#biodiversity #deep-sea #marine-biology

science16 days ago•2 min saved

Remoras: From Helpful Hitchhikers to Potential Parasites

Remoras, long seen as mutualistic hitchhikers that clean and shield their hosts, may be more parasitic than previously thought. New research notes reduced grazing by hosts with remoras present and rare cases of remoras entering manta rays’ cloacae, a behavior dubbed “cloacal diving” that challenges the traditional view of a beneficial relationship and highlights the parasite-like potential of these clingy fish.

via Defector|

#cloacal-diving #marine-biology #parasitism

science22 days ago•2 min saved

Giant Squid Detected Off Western Australia Via Environmental DNA

Using environmental DNA from 1,700 liters of seawater off Western Australia, researchers detected 226 species and the giant squid Architeuthis dux—the first WA eDNA record and northernmost in the eastern Indian Ocean—along with many DNA sequences not matching known species, highlighting vast, still-hidden deep-sea biodiversity.

via Nautilus | Science|

#deep-sea-biodiversity #environmental-dna #giant-squid

science24 days ago•3 min saved

Unidentified Ghostly Deep-Sea Creature Baffles Researchers Off Japan

Researchers filming with HD cameras on the Limiting Factor off Japan captured footage of a pale, ghostly deep-sea organism at about 29,960 feet, in the Ryukyu Trench. Despite consultations, scientists could not classify the creature, labeling it Animalia incerta sedis and noting mollusk-like, nudibranch-adjacent features that don’t fit known species; its exact identity remains unknown despite examining 108 other organism groups during the expedition.

via PetaPixel|

#deep-sea #japan-trenches #marine-biology

science1 month ago•65 min saved

Golden orb off Alaska traced to secretions from a deep-sea anemone-like creature

A long-standing mystery about a shiny golden orb found on Alaska’s seafloor is solved: it’s not an egg or sponge but secretions from Relicanthus daphneae, a deep-sea anemone‑like animal. Microscopy revealed the tissue is a cuticle the creature uses to cement itself to rock, and DNA analysis confirmed the presence of the anemone’s tissue and associated microbes. The findings, posted on bioRxiv, highlight how combining genetic data with physical samples helps identify little‑known deep-sea life.

via Live Science|

#anemone #deep-sea #golden-orb

science1 month ago•2 min saved

Color-changing surgeonfish signals for a clean at the Great Barrier Reef

Diver Jamie Wilson filming the Great Barrier Reef captured hundreds of pale surgeonfish visiting a cleaning station, and one fish abruptly darkened from white to black. Scientists say such color changes may signal to cleaner wrasse that the fish is ready for a cleaning and not a threat, aiding parasite removal and communication in reef ecosystems.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|

#animal-behavior #coral-reef #great-barrier-reef

science1 month ago•2 min saved

Jellyfish Taste for Burrowing Worms Documented for the First Time

A Danish study finds jellyfish from two species feeding on polychaete worms, a burrowing bottom-dweller, marking the first documented instance. Across a year, 45 of 166 Aurelia aurita and 3 of 71 Mnemiopsis leidyi were found with worms in their guts, typically when worms rise to spawn at night. This seasonal feeding burst adds a new layer to fjord energy flow and could affect ecosystems if the invasive M. leidyi expands.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|

#danish-fjords #food-web #jellyfish

science1 month ago•9 min saved

Drones Capture Sub-Adult Sperm Whales Headbutting for the First Time

Drones recorded three headbutting incidents among sub-adult sperm whales off Spain and Portugal (Azores and Balearic Islands) between 2020–2022, marking the first video evidence of this behavior and challenging the idea that only adult males headbutt. The footage suggests rough play or social dynamics as young whales leave matriarchal groups, and researchers note that headbutting is unlikely to injure them. The study, published in Marine Mammal Science on March 23, 2026, highlights drone observations as a powerful tool in marine research and partly connects to sailors’ lore about whales sinking ships.

via A-Z Animals|

#azores-and-balearic-islands #drone-footage #headbutting

science2 months ago•5 min saved

Historic Sperm Whale Birth Reveals Cooperative Pod Care

Researchers captured the first recorded birth of a sperm whale, showing a coordinated group response as multiple females surround and assist the mother and newborn, suggesting a shared social role within the pod and challenging previous notions of whale individuality; the findings, published in Science based on long-term CETI observations, imply complex intelligence and cultural transmission in whale societies.

via Indian Defence Review|

#birth #marine-biology #project-ceti

science2 months ago•14 min saved

Sperm Whale Birth Captured: Females Rally to Shield Newborn Calf

Scientists documented one of the most detailed wild observations of a sperm whale birth, revealing cooperative female behavior as they protect the newborn calf and help it reach water safety, with observations tied to Project CETI.

via AP News|

#birth #cooperative-behavior #marine-biology

science2 months ago•3 min saved

First On-Camera Sperm Whale Headbutts Documented, Initiated by Young Whales

Researchers captured the first documented on-camera headbutts between sperm whales, observed in the Azores and Balearic Islands, showing that young whales initiate the behavior; the study, published in Marine Mammal Science, seeks to understand its function and invites others with footage to share.

via BBC Wildlife Magazine|

#animal-behavior #headbutting #marine-biology

science2 months ago•7 min saved

Drone Footage Reveals Sub-Adult Sperm Whales Engaging in Headbutting

University of St Andrews researchers used drones to document headbutting among sub-adult sperm whales in the Azores and Balearic Islands, overturning the idea that this behavior is limited to large adult males. The study, published in Marine Mammal Science, notes questions about why the behavior occurs and how it affects group dynamics, and highlights drones as a powerful tool for observing near-surface whale actions, echoing historic anecdotes of whales ramming ships.

via SciTechDaily|

#drones #headbutting #marine-biology