The Ocean Through Time

Life began in the ocean around 3.5 billion years ago and as evolution progressed, many species went extinct -- and some left behind fossils -- as others appeared. And even now, the ocean hasn't stopped changing as evolution continues and humans leave their mark.

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The Last Wild Places In the Ocean Webcast

The ocean is not as natural as it once was. Where there used to be large predators that we took for sea monsters, now there are tiny fish and jellyfish. But there are a...
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The Ocean Throughout Geologic Time, An Image Gallery

Evidence shows that life probably began in the ocean at least 3.5 billion years...

Really Small Fry: Shifting Baselines in Marine Fish Stocks

A public service announcement uses a dramatic example to emphasize that ocean...

Fossil Whale Found, Excavated, Jacketed, and Returned to STRI!

Jorge and I packed up the night we arrived in Panama with Aaron O'Dea and his...

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The Whale Graveyard Whodunit

Mar 1, 2014
Often it's the tiniest organisms that do the most harm. One example is microscopic algae, which can grow rapidly to form harmful algal blooms . Such...

The Design of a Beautiful Weapon

Sep 3, 2013
This summer, many of you have likely enjoyed feasting on crabs, be they blue...

Whale fossils on the mainland, and into...

May 21, 2012
After a few long days of hard work on the island, we were finally able to...

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Did Whale Evolution Go Backwards?

Whales swim, but their ancestors walked. Whales are mammals (like us) whose ancestors lived on land. Life probably began in...

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