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Aug 29 2012 - 6:02pm
Logistically speaking, the nearshore zone of the ocean -- the coastal areas to a depth of around 65 feet (20 meters) -- is the most-studied region of the ocean because of its accessibility. But, surprisingly, the estimates for how many species live in this region worldwide vary widely, from 178,000...
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Mar 21 2011 - 5:22pm
A still from SOLA: Louisiana Water Stories, part of the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
This mangrove island in the Pelican Cays, Belize, was clear-cut and filled with dredged sand and coral from the adjacent reef flat. Developers are clearing and dredging mangroves in an attempt to create sand-based islands for tourists. Unfortunately, mangroves help prevent erosion and submergence...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
A scorpion found in a mangrove. More about mangrove ecosystem can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
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Feb 27 2013 - 9:38pm
Around 100 million years ago, grass from land adapted to live and reproduce while submerged in seawater—the modern-day seagrasses. This sea invasion by land plants happened four separate times, resulting in four unrelated families of 50-60 total seagrass species, which can be found on the coast of...
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Feb 28 2013 - 3:37pm
Jellyfish and comb jellies are gelatinous animals that drift through the ocean's water column around the world. They are both beautiful—the jellyfish with their pulsating bells and long, trailing tentacles, and the comb jellies with their paddling combs generating rainbow-like colors. Yet though...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This creek lined with mangroves is located near the Smithsonian Institution’s field station in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The tangled roots support an amazing array of life. Learn more about mangroves in the Ocean Portal's mangrove section.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
An American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, resting on a bed of seagrass. These medium-sized crocodiles live in freshwater and saltwater habitats of Central America, the northern coasts of South America, the Caribbean Islands, and the southern tip of Florida. They're most commonly found in mangrove-...
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Apr 8 2013 - 9:11am
When most people think of catfish, they think of a freshwater fish. But the striped eel catfish (Plotosus lineatus) is found in marine systems including coral reefs, estuaries, tide pools and other coastal areas of the Indo-Western Pacific. The juveniles of the fish school in groups of up to 100,...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Arching mangrove roots like these help keep trunks upright in the soft sediments at water’s edge. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
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Sep 28 2012 - 3:03pm
Sea stars (Odontaster validus) and sea urchins (Sterechinus neumayeri) spread over an algae-covered seafloor off the coast of Antarctica.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Marc Frischer, a microbial ecologist at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, collects bacteria at the Smithsonian Institution’s field station in Belize. Smithsonian scientists and colleagues from around the world are studying mangrove diversity and the threats they face.
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Sep 21 2011 - 2:04pm
Sandy beaches are home to a Diversity of Life
In the Shores and Shallows Gallery of the Smithsonian's Sant Ocean Hall, a beach display features magnified grains of sand and the tiny beach critters that live between them.
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Jul 2 2010 - 6:01pm
Happy (early) Independence Day! For many of us in the United States, the 4th of July is a time to celebrate and reflect on our national heritage. In many ways, the U.S. grew up on the water and remains a maritime nation to this day.
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Jun 24 2010 - 9:57am
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Jan 31 2011 - 2:11pm
This map shows the network of Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers, which include aquariums, marine science centers, and laboratories. The network creates a partnership between federal U.S. agencies and Learning Centers across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. The network is constantly growing to address...
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Aug 31 2012 - 4:40pm
Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is large, brown algae that grows in dense forests along coasts around the world. Their long stalks anchor each plant to the seafloor, and they grow meters high like giant trees towards the surface. Kelp forest ecosystems are home to a variety of animals, including...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Dr. Ilka C. "Candy" Feller calls mangroves the 'nursery of the sea.' These important coastal habitats face many threats, including nutrient pollution from fertilizer runoff. That's the focus of much of Feller's work; she's a scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. In this short...
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Jul 26 2010 - 6:21pm
Melissa Frey, Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) Rubenstein Fellow, examines a Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) on a chilly day in Sidney, British Columbia. In addition to holding an EOL Fellowship, Melissa is a Research Associate at the Royal BC Museum, where she continues to engage in taxonomic studies.
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Oct 25 2012 - 9:45am
The Island Leaf-Toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus insularis) is one of several species of geckos that live in the mangroves of the Caribbean’s Mangal Cay. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
A map that shows the location of mangroves throughout the world. They are mainly found in the tropics and subtropics. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
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Jul 22 2010 - 6:28pm
The sun sets over marshland near Ocean City, N.J.
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Mar 30 2011 - 1:33pm
What is climate change, and how is it affecting coastal Carolina? That is the question that a group teens from Isaac Bear Early College High School set out to answer for their Third National Student Summit on the Ocean & Coasts project.
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Nov 22 2010 - 11:11pm
A small horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) rests on seaweed in Stage Harbor, Massachusetts. Atlantic horseshoe crabs can be found along the coast of North America from the Yucatán Peninsula to Maine. Read more about how the copper-based blue blood of horseshoe crabs has helped the medical industry...
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