Amphidromous fish – which migrate between freshwater streams and the sea – can move between habitats thanks to ocean currents. Since island streams are generally small and vulnerable to human impact, understanding how exactly fish populations are connected between streams and between islands is important for the conservation of geographically isolated species. In a study now published in Scientific Reports, a team of researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and collaborators sought to understand these dynamics by investigating the genetic connectivity among populations of the amphidromous goby Luciogobius ryukyuensis at four islands in the Ryukyu Archipelago in Japan: Okinawa, Kume, Ishigaki, and Iriomote. 

What’s the driving factor behind nemo’s evolutionary diversification, and why does this matter? Anemonefish are one of the few examples of adaptive radiation in marine environments — where species rapidly diversify to fill ecological roles. Understanding how this happens can teach us how biodiversity forms and is maintained, especially under changing environmental pressures.

Scientists have long assumed that anemonefishes’ tight-knit relationship with sea anemones, their protective hosts, was the main engine behind their evolutionary diversification. Our study instead shows that distinct ecological lifestyles also shape how different species evolve. Some species are “adventurers” that roam widely with powerful muscles and low energy costs, while others are “homebodies” that stay close to their anemone, have smaller muscles, and use more energy to swim.

This matters because it underscores how different behaviors and physiological traits influence biodiversity. In a time of rapid environmental change, understanding these hidden dimensions of animal adaptation helps us better predict which species may be more resilient or vulnerable.

Now, a team of researchers has found that some corals survive warming ocean temperatures by passing heat-resisting abilities on to their offspring. 

The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, are the result of a collaboration between Michigan State University, Duke University and the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, or HIMB, at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. This work, funded by the National Science Foundation and a Michigan State University Climate Change Research grant, is crucial in the race to better conserve and restore threatened reefs across the globe. 

South China Sea marine heatwaves split into two types, with ocean dynamics playing a surprising role

Current climate models have so far been unable to adequately reproduce the clouds over the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. An international team has now taken an important step towards filling this gap: The researchers were able to prove that the majority of ice nuclei in the atmosphere there are due to sugar compounds from marine microorganisms in the seawater. They enter the clean air above the sea through sea spray and evaporation, causing water droplets to freeze and thus affecting cloud and precipitation formation. Ice formation in clouds has a major influence on the climate as ice particles in clouds reflect sunlight much more strongly than pure water clouds. These results emphasize the importance of biological sources for precipitation formation in remote marine regions such as around the Antarctic, as researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) and the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

A new study by researchers at Bar-Ilan University has uncovered that certain ocean viruses—specifically RNA viruses—may disrupt how carbon and nutrients are recycled in the ocean, potentially altering the global carbon cycle.

Marine biologists from Germany, Indonesia, and Wales have discovered two new species of wart sea slugs in North Sulawesi, Indonesia: Phyllidia ovata and Phyllidia fontjei. Both of these sea slugs have a distinct appearance and are much rarer than many others in the area. Their discovery adds to the rich biodiversity of the Indo-Pacific region. The study was published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

Scientists from the Marine Biological Association and the University of Plymouth have revisited turn-of-the-century forecasts about the many and varied threats they thought were likely to face the world’s shorelines in 2025. Their new study highlights that many of their forecasts were correct, either in whole or in part, while others haven’t had the impacts that were envisaged at the time. They have also charted some of the other threats to have emerged and/or grown in significance since their original work, with notable examples including global plastic pollution, ocean acidification, extreme storms and weather, and light and noise pollution.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is pleased to announce the launch of WavyOcean 2.0, an immersive digital twin platform of regional earth system. This upgraded platform deeply integrates digital technologies with innovative research in Earth system, creating the first "dynamic digital mirror" for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) and China's coastal regions. With these enhancement, WavyOcean 2.0 offers the latest data on ocean currents, marine ecology, atmospheric conditions, and the distribution of rivers and pollutants in terrestrial watersheds, along with comprehensive data analysis tools and immersive visualization interactive functions.