Ocean Life & Ecosystems

From the tiny to the titanic, from the familiar to the undiscovered, the ocean offers a stunning diversity of marine life and nearly every kind of habitat imaginable. Dive in and explore them here.

EDUCATOR RESOURCES

LATEST BLOG POSTS

Earth Day, Spawned from the Sea

Apr 22, 2013 - 10:29AMSometimes I think that our planet Earth, named for the Old English word for “dry land” (eorthe), should get a new name. Despite our knowledge that more than 70% of the planet’s surface is ocean—definitely not “dry land”—we still...

The Search for an Elusive Ribbon Worm
Mar 12, 2013 - 2:40PM
With 1,400 named species of ribbon worms inhabiting every ecosystem on earth...

How Coastal Seagrass Feeds the Deep
Feb 11, 2013 - 1:53PM
It is a well-known fact that for animals living in the deep sea, food can be...

SPOTLIGHT

Sea Creatures from the Deep: A Video by National Geographic and the Census of Marine Life

The Census of Marine Life - a ten-year effort by scientists from around the world to answer the age-old... 		Sea Creatures from the Deep A Video by National Geographic and the Census of Marine Life
MORE OCEAN LIFE & ECOSYSTEMS

AUDIO / VIDEO

  • <p>In this video excerpt, Dr. Clyde Roper—squid expert-- explains how he developed a passionate interest in the giant squid, fueled by his early beginnings as a lobster fisherman off the coast of New Hampshire.</p>

    Clyde Roper: Squid Hunter - Eyeball to Eyeball
  • In a presentation recorded at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History on January 6, 2011, Dr. Brandon Southall discussed recent findings from SOCAL‐10, a research project about the effects of noise on the behavior of whales and dolphins.

    New Findings on the Effects of Noise on Whale and Dolphin Behavior
  • A white, elongated, and whorled wentletrap shell, seen from two angles.

    Sanibel Island Shells: One Species at a Time
  • <p>A counter keeps track of how many sharks are killed each year by humans as compared to how many humans are killed by sharks.</p>

    100,000,000 to 000,000,001: Rethink the Shark
  • <p>A video of astonishing creatures like the football octopod, jewel squid, and helmet jelly that were discovered by scientists during the <strong><a href="http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-collaborators/census-marine-life">Census of Marine Life</a></strong>.</p>

    Sea Creatures from the Deep: A Video by National Geographic and the Census of Marine Life
  • <p>The Census of Marine Life, a decade-long effort to catalog life in the sea, was completed in October 2010. Census researchers released the most comprehensive inventory of ocean species to date.</p>

    Census of Marine Life Video Release
  • <p>In this recorded webcast Dr. Alexandros Karamanlidis, the scientific coordinator for the <strong><a href="http://www.mom.gr/homepage.asp?ITMID=101&amp;LANG=EN">MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal</a></strong>, discusses his organization's efforts to study and to save the Mediterranean monk seal (<strong><em><a href="http://www.eol.org/pages/328633">Monachus monachus</a></em></strong>) from extinction.</p>

    Efforts to Protect the Critically Endangered Monk Seal
  • great white shark swims through the ocean

    Great White Shark: One Species at a Time
  • <p>Dr. Karen Bice studies the <a href="http://ocean.si.edu/slideshow/forams/#http://ocean.si.edu/sites/default/files/imagecache/Xx467/photos/Amphistegina-Hallock_92_1-full.jpg">foraminifera</a> in ocean sediment.</p>

    Foraminifera on the Seafloor
  • Discover some amazing corals in this footage from the Juan de Fuca Canyon off the Olympic coast in the Pacific Ocean and the Davidson Seamount, an underwater volcano outside the boundary of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in the Pacific Ocean.

    Corals in the Juan de Fuca Canyon and the Davidson Seamount
  • Tube worms called riftia occupy a deep-sea vent

    Riftia Worms: One Species at a Time
  • <p>In the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill, what is the effect of oil on invertebrates like jellyfish, clams, crabs, sea stars, and plankton? Dr. Chris Mah suggests “The Invisible Loss” may be widespread and devastating.</p>

    Oil’s Impact on Marine Invertebrates
  • Mangroves abut blue ocean waters.

    Mangroves: One Species at a Time
  • <p>Extracting DNA from fins helps scientists identify a shark's species and where it was born--information that is critical to conservation efforts.</p>

    Shark Fin Genetics

IMAGE GALLERIES

  • The Baltic Sea faces challenges from pollution, algae blooms, over fishing, and invasive species.

    Biodiversity in the Baltic Sea
  • This swimming snail is transparent and has shiny black eyes.

    Zooplankton Biodiversity

  • Zooxanthellae

  • Collections from Curaçao
  • Check out the array of tiny shrimps, fishes and nudibranchs that call this sargassum algae home.

    A World Adrift: Life in the Sargassum

  • Seamounts, A Deep-Sea Habitat
  • An underwater photo of a school of jacks and a scuba diver

    Ocean Views Award Winners, 2011
  • a photograph of a bioluminescent squid at Sunset Reef Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

    Ocean Views from Nature's Best Photos

  • Diversity of Deep-Sea Corals
  • Photos, such as this cockatoo squid, illustrate the diversity of deep sea creatures

    Deep Ocean Diversity
  • A Right Whales Shows Its Baleen

    Baleen: From Whales to People

  • World Fisheries from Sea to Table
  • a wrasse cleaning a butterflyfish

    Image Gallery: The Perfect Underwater Photo

  • Shark Ancestors

PHOTOS

  • Phoenix Sighting May 2010

  • US Coast Guard Cutter HEALY

  • TOPP cartoon of Omoo

  • Squids and Cephalopod Diversity

  • Diverse Deep-Sea Corals

  • Mantis Shrimp Carries Eggs

  • Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha)

  • Hawaii’s Maro Coral Reef

  • A Handful of Biodiversity

  • Walrus Rests on Ice

  • Tan Sea Urchin

  • What is the Largest Squid? A Squid Size Comparison Chart

  • Flounder Faces Pollution and Overfishing in Baltic Sea

  • Specimens from the Smithsonian Invertebrate Zoology Collection