Personal Perspectives

Deep-sea octocorals: An ecosystem of their own

The deep-sea is a vast part of the world’s ocean. Even today, it often surprises...

Personal Perspectives

Ocean Today Every Full Moon

Our friends at NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Ocean...

Personal Perspectives

Spirals in Time: A Walk at the Seashore

When I set out to write a book about mollusks (called Spirals in Time), I wasn't...

Personal Perspectives

Microbes Help Corals Pick a Home and Settle Down

Bacteria are everywhere in the ocean. They live in the water, on virtually every...

Personal Perspectives

From Despair to Repair: Protecting Parrotfish Can Help Bring Back Caribbean Coral Reefs

Reef biologists over a certain age are haunted by memories of what glorious places...

Personal Perspectives

Watching for Fish in the Puffin's Beak

In recent years, I have taken to watching flying fish along the Maine coast. Not...

Personal Perspectives

Portraits of Planet Ocean – Behind The Photographs

As an assignment photographer, I sometimes feel as though I am living in a vacuum,...

Personal Perspectives

The Design of a Beautiful Weapon

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

Personal Perspectives

4,000 Years of Marine History through the Eyes of a Seabird

Most people have never heard of the Hawaiian petrel, an endangered, crow-sized...

Personal Perspectives

Arctic Sea Ice: A New Low?

At a recent staff meeting a Smithsonian colleague mentioned that one of his...

Personal Perspectives

Menopausal Moms: A Mammal Mystery

In honor of Mother's Day, the Citizens of the Sea blog salutes ocean-going mothers...