Close up image of small seashells laying in the sand.

Ecosystems

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Seagrasses are flowering plants that can form dense underwater meadows and are an important shallow water habitat.

Seagrass Overview

Are you a student researching seagrass or someone looking to learn more about seagrass beds? This overview dives into everything to know.

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Featured Content

Corals, sponges, and algae are the major components of most coral reef communities as shown in this picture.

Corals and Coral Reefs

two mangrove trees in the crashing waves

Mangroves

Looking through this iceberg's reflection in the Antarctic water, you can see the iceberg below the surface—some 90% of its total volume.

The Arctic and The Antarctic

Coral scientist Dr. Amy Baco-Taylor observed corals like these on her first submarine dive to a deep-sea coral bed off the coast of Hawaii.

Deep-sea Corals

a deep sea jellyfish

The Deep Sea

Ecosystems Articles

A Caribbean hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus) crawls on the forest floor.

The Great Hermit Crab Migration

Colorful corals are disappearing in the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef – Going, Going, Gone???

A whale shark swims with a diver off the coast of East Africa.

The Big Five of the Ocean: Exploring the Waters of East Africa

A humpback whale breaching in Antarctic waters.

Humpback Whales in Antarctica: What Are the Whales Doing?

Seagrasses are flowering plants that can form dense underwater meadows and are an important shallow water habitat.

How Coastal Seagrass Feeds the Deep

A ribbon worm curled up in a mud flat.

The Search for an Elusive Ribbon Worm

This orange boring sponge (Cliona varians) overgrows several coral species at Panama's Smithsonian Tropical Studies Institute.

Ocean Acidification Excites Boring Sponges

Traditional fishing techniques now involve monofilament nets, with snorkelers diving down to ensure the bigger fish don't get away.

Field Notes from the East African Coast

Convict surgeonfish are the roaming sheep of the reef but, instead of noshing on grass, they feed on algae.

Helpful Herbivores

This male dancing fiddler crab (Uca terpsichores) has built a sand “hood” at the entrance to his burrow, which he hopes will attract females to his humble abode—as if that big beautiful claw of his weren't enough!

The Design of a Beautiful Weapon

In 2011, storms and lack of ice-cover due to a warmer winter climate resulted in hundreds of seal pups being washed up on the shore of Prince Edward Island. Like many, this young seal faced an uncertain future. See more Nature's Best Photos.

Ice-Loving Seals and the Loss of Sea Ice

The grasses and animals living in marshes help to filter water and stabilize shorelines, along with providing habitat for a variety of mammals, fish, shellfish and amphibians and a haven for migratory waterfowl.

How Hurricanes Shape Wetlands in Southern Louisiana

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