A new study reveals how manta rays form unique interactions with other fishes in South Florida waters—highlighting their complex ecological interactions between species that support ocean life.

Harvard engineers, as part of Project CETI, have built an open-source bio-logger that adheres to sperm whales and records high-fidelity, multi-channel audio plus rich behavioral and environmental data. The data are tailored for machine learning analysis so that researchers can better understand whale communication.

An international team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology has uncovered a hidden world of tiny partnerships thriving in wastewater treatment plants worldwide. The microscopic allies—specialized bacteria living inside single-celled hosts—play a surprising role in both cleaning water and potentially contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

Ocean data assimilation systems combine data assimilation with numerical ocean models to predict ocean conditions. Researchers recently created the Yin-He Global Ocean Data Assimilation and Forecast System (YHGO) to provide more accurate estimations of oceanic conditions than older platforms.

Large phytoplankton blooms north of the Hawaiian Islands have been seen in satellite imagery as vast swirls of color nearly every summer, but their origin and ecosystem dynamics have remained mysterious. A recent investigation revealed the confluence of conditions that support the explosion of photosynthetic microbes and the cascade of responses within the microscopic marine world. The highly multidisciplinary study offers the first comprehensive look at the anatomy of these massive biological events

Mosasaurs, giant marine reptiles that existed more than 66 million years ago, lived not only in the sea but also in rivers. This is shown by new research based on analyses of a mosasaur tooth found in North Dakota and believed to belong to an animal that could reach a length of 11 metres. The study, conducted by an international team of researchers led from Uppsala University, shows that mosasaurs adapted to riverine environments in the final million years before they became extinct.

This two-year effort develops innovative 3D-printed materials to remove excess phosphorus from freshwater systems and curb harmful algal blooms. Backed by statewide water-quality investments and prior research, the project will create durable, retrievable structures that provide a more effective, environmentally safe method for long-term nutrient removal. It also includes educational outreach to strengthen the local workforce and public awareness. The work addresses the growing threat HABs pose to ecosystems, public health, the economy and quality of life, driven largely by phosphorus from runoff and other nutrient sources.

Killer whales or orca (Orcinus orca) have been observed hunting with Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) in the waters off British Columbia, Canada and sharing fish scraps with them after making a kill, according to research published in Scientific Reports...

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology find that urea is a major energy source for ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in the open ocean, while coastal AOA prefer ammonium. The study, published in Nature Communications, suggests that organic nitrogen plays a far greater role in ocean productivity than previously recognized.

Researchers have shown that a 2022-2023 mass mortality event has driven previously abundant populations of Diadema africanum sea urchins throughout the Canary Islands to near-extinction. This outbreak was more impactful than previous ones in 2008 and 2018 in the same islands, because this time the production of larvae and the recruitment of juveniles has nearly ceased. The pathogens that caused the disease aren’t yet definitely known, but similar die-offs of sea urchins have been reported nearly simultaneously from the Caribbean to the western Indian Ocean.