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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...
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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.
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Mar 14 2011 - 5:08pm
Using maps and graphics, Smithsonian geologist Dr. Liz Cottrell provides an overview of the major earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011—one of the largest ever recorded globally. She explains the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the movement of tectonic plates and subduction, the...
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Nov 27 2012 - 9:51am
Researchers with the Smithsonian's Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) collected this sea toad, Chaunax pictus, off the coast of Honduras in 2011. The team is trying to collect sea toads from around the Caribbean to better understand the group's genetic diversity and distribution.
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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...
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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.
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Jul 14 2011 - 12:30pm
Last week, Smithsonian research zoologists Dr. Jerry Harasewych and Dr. Martha Nizinski were in Curaçao looking for deep-sea marine gastropods and decapod crustaceans, respectively.
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Mar 11 2011 - 4:06pm
Dr. Carole Baldwin never expected to find seven new species of fish among the Starskia blennies she was studying at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. "My research team was using barcoding to match larval stages of reef fishes to adults," she said. But when comparing the DNA of...
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Jul 31 2012 - 5:53pm
The acidic waters from CO2 seeps can dissolve shells and also make it harder for shells to grow in the first place.
Read more about how reef scientist Laetitia Plaisance uses carbon dioxide seeps to study ocean acidification and how it will affect biodiversity on coral reefs in the...
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Apr 20 2011 - 4:30pm
Dive into the Gulf of Mexico without getting wet! The Smithsonian has recently uploaded some of its marine collections from that region onto Google Earth's Ocean Layer. Now you can go where our scientists have traveled and discover the biodiversity that exists beneath the water's surface. Want to...
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Jan 27 2010 - 2:57pm
In Fort Pierce, Florida, researchers at the Smithsonian Marine Station focus on mangroves and other marine ecosystems of Florida. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
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Jan 30 2013 - 10:21am
The Palauan primitive cave eel (Protanguilla palau) has an evolutionary history that dates back some 200 million years. Because of this and the fact that it has retained some primitive features, scientists are recognizing it as a 'living fossil.'
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Aug 13 2012 - 9:30am
During the 2012 field season of the Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) in Curaçao, Smithsonian scientists collected many specimens with the help of the Curasub. Prospective new species were caught on almost every dive as the scientists explored the biodiversity of the mid- and deep-sea...
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May 7 2012 - 3:34pm
The whales that we see in today's world can broadly be split into two groups: those with teeth (odontocetes), and those that have baleen (mysticetes) instead of teeth. These two groups share a common ancestor in the Eocene, which had teeth (They looked a lot like the ancient whale skeletons in the...
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Jul 5 2011 - 1:19pm
Dr. Carole Baldwin, a research zoologist and fish expert with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, gives viewers an inside-look at the Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP). She and her colleagues are trying to understand the biodiversity in coral reefs near Curaçao, an island in...
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Sep 12 2011 - 4:40pm
The evolution of whales represents one of the great stories in macroevolution. It's a narrative that has mostly benefitted from an extraordinary series of fossils recovered from rocks around the world, including challenging field areas in Egypt, Pakistan, and India.
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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...
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May 18 2012 - 5:17pm
The sargassum is coated with encrusting organisms, such as bryozoans and hydroids, that use it as a perch to filter feed in the oceanic waters, as well as crustaceans such as the swimming crab Portunus sayi (Portunidae).
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Dec 22 2010 - 12:21pm
Dr. Carole Baldwin, Smithsonian Curator of Fishes, and Adrien "Dutch" Schrier of the Curacao Seaquarium reflect the holiday spirit as they work off the coast of Curacao in the southern Caribbean.
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Jul 14 2010 - 10:01pm
Follow researchers Candy Feller and Dennis Whigham from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center as they scramble, climb, crawl, and creep through the tangled roots of a mangrove forest. In this episode of the Podcast of Life, learn what’s threatening these unique ecosystems where the...
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Oct 23 2010 - 5:15pm
CREDIT: Chris Kenaley
The Mystery Develops
Flash forward to 1956, when scientists described another new kind of fish. It was named the tapetail because of its long, streamer-like tail. It also had a large upturned mouth.
Unlike the whalefish, the tapetail was found living near the ocean’s...
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Mar 29 2011 - 4:11pm
Dennis Whigham, Senior Botanist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
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Jun 4 2012 - 1:44pm
It’s not everyday that I get to collect and gather data right alongside our Museum’s researchers. So, imagine my recent delight when the opportunity was presented to me to travel half way around the world to Bali, Indonesia to participate in a research and education field project.
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Jan 22 2013 - 6:59am
I have been at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History since 1966, studying and reporting on all kinds of octopuses and squids. But I’ve always had a particular fascination with the mysterious and elusive giant squid. My interest in giant squid began in graduate school when my...
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