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A Red Snapper's Ear Stone

Scientists use the ear stones as a way to age the fish. Also called otoliths, they...

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A Collection of Cambrian Fossils

When you're standing in a museum surrounded by fossils, you can almost imagine...

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Oil Invades Coral Communities of the Deep

On the deep seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico, ecosystems made up of fish, corals, sea...

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Mangroves: Photos of Plants and Animals

Mangrove is the name for a tree—and also for a complex ecosystem—that bridges...

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Cells Get Fat

These cells are from a pygmy sperm whale in a laboratory culture dish. The red dyed...

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Anemone On Deep Sea Coral

Deep-sea corals miles away from the source of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in...

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Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha)

This bivalve mollusk is native to the Caspian Sea, lagoons of the Black Sea, and...

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Rapa Whelk

Rapa whelks, native to Asia, have invaded the Chesapeake Bay and are raising...

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Shell Dissolves in Seawater

Over a 10-year period, NOAA scientists have collected 72,000 seawater samples, and...

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Elevator Rudists

These "elevator" rudists, an ancient bivalve, used one long heavy valve to anchor...

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After the Oil Spill: Research Projects in the Gulf of Mexico with GoMRI

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was formed as a 10-year independent...

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A Foram That Thrives Where Others Can't

These tiny shells are the foraminifera Globobulimina affinis, found on the seafloor...