Today's Catch

  • May 16, 2012
    Male northern elephant seals face off on the beach for the best territory for mating season.

    Elephant Seals Tussle for Territory

    Male northern elephant seals face off on the beach by vocalizing through their extended noses, called proboscises. Every winter, when the seals return to the beach where they were born to breed, males arrive first to tussle for territory. The winners of these fights are the "alpha" males, and they get the biggest and best territories. After the beachfront property is divvied among the alpha males, the females arrive for breeding.

    Census of Marine Life, Competition, Marine mammals, Reproduction
    CREDIT:

    Robert Schwemmer, CINMS, NOAA
  • May 7, 2012
    Laysan albatross with a chick.

    Laysan Albatross with a Chick

    The Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) breeds mainly in Hawaii and other Pacific islands where male and female pairs will incubate their egg for nine weeks. The pair participates in an elaborate courtship dance where movements and noises bond them together for the rest of their lives. After breeding season is over the birds move north and west towards Japan and Alaska.

    Cephalopods, Migration, Reproduction, Sea birds, Squids
    CREDIT:

    Kevin Rolle
  • May 4, 2012
    A Longspine seahorse off the coast of South Africa.

    Longspine Seahorse

    The longspine seahorse (Hippocampus histrix), named for the spines covering its body, has a long snout and eyes that move independently of each other. Like other seahorses, the male carries the eggs and gives birth. Check out some other seahorse species - the pygmy seahorse and the longsnout seahorse. 

    Fishes, Seahorses
    CREDIT:

    FishWise Professional
  • May 2, 2012
    A polar bear and its cub in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

    Polar Bear Mother and Cub

    The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is found in the Arctic and classified as a vulnerable species by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This marine mammal can swim more than 30 miles when sea ice has receded due to warm temperatures.

    Arctic, Encyclopedia of Life, Marine mammals, Polar bears
    CREDIT:

    Alan D. Wilson
  • Apr 24, 2012
    The right whale Phoenix, and her calf, swimming off the coast of Florida.

    Phoenix and Her Calf Sighted in February 2012

    Phoenix, the North Atlantic right whale whose replica hangs from the ceiling of the Sant Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History, was sighted with a calf off of Amelia Island in Florida on February 22, 2012.

    Cetaceans, Marine mammals, Phoenix, Whales
    CREDIT:

    Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, NOAA Research Permit #15488
  • Apr 13, 2012
    Rusticles on the HMS Titanic cover the hanging stern.

    Bacteria Live in the Titanic Wreck

    The Titanic's sinking around 100 years ago created a new underwater habitat for organisms: the wreck itself. One of these is a species of bacteria -- named Halomonas titanicae after the great ship -- that lives inside icicle-like growths of rust, called "rusticles." These bacteria eat iron in the ship's hull and they will eventually consume the entire ship, recycling the nutrients into the ocean ecosystem.

    Exploration, Feeding, Microorganisms, Shipwrecks
    CREDIT:

    Lori Johnston, NOAA
  • Mar 26, 2012
    A deep-sea octopod wraps itself around a submersible’s robotic arm in the Gulf of Mexico.

    Octopod on Submersible Arm

    A deep-sea octopod wraps itself around a submersible’s robotic arm 2,300 meters (7,546 feet) down in the Gulf of Mexico. "Most octopuses will let you get close, maybe even touch them, but normally they'll try to run once the manipulator gets close," said Bruce Strickrott, pilot of the submersible Alvin. Explore more octopod content and learn more in our Deep Ocean Exploration section.

    Cephalopods, Deep sea, Exploration, Gulf of Mexico, Octopuses, Research vessels, Technology, WHOI
    CREDIT:

    2007 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, All Rights Reserved
  • Jan 26, 2012
    'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's satellite - Suomi NPP.

    'Blue Marble' Image of the Earth

     

    'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite - Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012. The NPP satellite was renamed 'Suomi NPP' on January 24, 2012 to honor the late Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin.

    NOAA, Satellite images, Satellites
    CREDIT:

    NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring
  • Jan 12, 2012
    A white, elongated, and whorled wentletrap shell, seen from two angles.

    Sanibel Island Shells: One Species at a Time

    Ari Daniel Shapiro is joined for this episode of One Species at a Time by serious beachcombers along the high-tide line of Sanibel Island, Florida. These “shellers” come in search of beautiful sea shells, sometimes no bigger than a grain of rice, that are the remains of marine snails, bivalves, and other mollusks.

    Encyclopedia of Life, Invertebrates, Mollusks, Ocean art
    Embed code of this video:
    CREDIT:

    Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
  • Dec 16, 2011

    Sea Grapes: A Google Earth Tour

    “Sea grapes” may sound like something Poseidon would snack on, and not a killer algae. Yet Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea poses a serious threat to marine life. Spread by the bilge water of boats, this fast-growing alga is quick to take root, squeezing out native species.

    Algae, Encyclopedia of Life, Invasive species
    CREDIT:

    Encyclopedia of Life