Smithsonian scientists Related Content

Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Researcher Aimee Ellison tests samples for DNA barcoding at the Gump Field Station on Moorea.
Sep 12 2011 - 1:10pm
CREDIT: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Basque Whalers Background Having already learned to hunt large whales in the Bay of Biscay in the 13th through 15th centuries, Basques began arriving in the rich whaling grounds of southern Labrador, Newfoundland, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence...
sea cucumber
Feb 3 2010 - 4:20am
What reef animal comes in a rainbow of crazy colors, can throw out its stomach to immobilize predators, then creep away and regrow a brand-new stomach? It’s the sea cucumber, prized as a gastronomic delight by some cultures and beginning to yield some of its secrets to scientists. Follow Podcast of...
Clyde Roper On the Over-Sized Anatomy of the Giant Squid
Jul 20 2012 - 12:57pm
Dr. Clyde Roper discusses the fascinating anatomy of the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) in this excerpt of "Eyeball to Eyeball," an episode of Errol Morris' First Person television series.
Lessons from the Panama Oil Spill
Jun 23 2010 - 11:22am
On April 27, 1986, an estimated 50,000 barrels of medium-weight crude oil drained from a ruptured storage tank at a refinery in Panama, polluting the coast and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Galeta Marine Laboratory, located at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. For 15 years...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This photo shows just a small part of the cephalopod collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Shown here is Dr. Clyde Roper, a zoologist and squid expert.
The Moorea Biocode Project
Nov 11 2009 - 5:48pm
Scientists on the tiny island of Moorea, in the Pacific, are gathering one of every life form large enough to pick up with tweezers. They're on a quest to build a detailed catalog of the entire ecosystem. Learn more about the island and the research being done there in our Casting a Wide Net...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Dr. Feller at White Pond on the island of Twin Cays, Belize. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Check out the array of tiny shrimps, fishes and nudibranchs that call this sargassum algae home.
May 18 2012 - 4:43pm
Smithsonian Marine Science Network Postdoctoral Fellow, Seabird McKeon, returns from the Smithsonian field site in Belize. Together with Dan Barshis of Stanford University, Seabird reports on the seemingly invisible inhabitants of drifting sargassum seaweeds. As with many parts of the ocean, a ball...
Sep 13 2012 - 10:36am
Another common species of sargassum shrimp, Leander tenuicornis (Palaemonidae), can be spotted by its long transparent claws or "chelae". Very similar shrimp are found in near shore habitats all around the world. Using genetic tests we may determine if they are the same species, or two...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
These Smithsonian field stations enable scientists worldwide to conduct long-term studies on mangrove ecosystems from a range of latitudes. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Dr. Stephen Cairns is a research zoologist and chair of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. His research focuses on the diversity, distribution, and evolution of deep-water corals—both fossil and living. Learn all about deep sea corals in...
Tracking Tsunamis
Jan 14 2011 - 1:16pm
Tsunamis, giant waves caused by underwater earthquakes, speed across the ocean at 400 miles per hour. Early warning systems, such as NOAA’s DART systems, are key to saving lives. Today, 47 DART stations are positioned all around the world ready to detect and warn coastal communities about the next...
Jun 22 2011 - 4:05pm
Paeleobiologist Dr. Nicholas Pyenson, Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals for the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), set out with Jorge Velez-Juarbe, NMNH Research Student and Ph. D. Candidate at Howard University and Aaron O'Dea from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute...
Aug 17 2011 - 12:09pm
Scientists at the Smithsonian and partnering organizations have discovered a remarkably primitive eel in a fringing reef off the coast of the Republic of Palau. This fish exhibits many primitive anatomical features unknown in the other 19 families and more than 800 species of living eels, resulting...
Mar 12 2013 - 2:40pm
With 1,400 named species of ribbon worms inhabiting every ecosystem on earth, seeking one out should be an easy proposition. But I quickly learned that it can be quite daunting when you’re looking for certain teeny-tiny mud-loving worms. I recently accompanied Dr. Jon Norenburg and postdoctoral...
Video of the Palauan primitive cave eel  Protanguilla palau
Aug 16 2011 - 2:31pm
A video of the Palauan primitive cave eel (Protanguilla palau) swimming in the Pacific off the Republic of Palau. Jiro Sakaue, a Japanese research diver, first discovered the new genus and species in a Palauan reef cave in 2009.
Clyde Roper  Squid Hunter - Architeuthis
Aug 24 2010 - 10:11am
Dr. Clyde Roper recounts the tale of his encounter with a giant squid specimen (Architeuthis dux) that was found washed up on a Massachusetts beach in this excerpt from "Eyeball to Eyeball," an episode of Errol Morris' First Person television series.  After the giant squid was...
Oct 26 2012 - 10:58am
Simon Coppard, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and an Encyclopedia of Life Rubenstein Fellow specializing in echinoids often uncovers new species during his research.
Aug 24 2012 - 3:57pm
Jul 5 2012 - 9:46am
When they get larger, Portunus sayi are formidable predators- quick to consume any smaller animal that comes within reach. Fish, other crustaceans, and even smaller members of their own species are not safe from this hungry sargassum swimming crab. 
Jun 7 2011 - 1:15pm
Smithsonian zoologist Dr. Steve Cairns named and described this deep-sea coral species, Stephanocyathus paliferus, which is now preserved in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History. The specimens will contribute to future research about deep sea corals. Collection cards record...
Mar 29 2011 - 4:11pm
Dennis Whigham, Senior Botanist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Mar 8 2012 - 12:30pm
Monodontids, the group of whales that includes living belugas and narwhals, are emblematic symbols of the Arctic. However, the fossil record shows that these animals had a much larger range than the northern pole.