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Algae or "seaweeds" (left) differ from seagrasses (right) in several ways.

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Algae vs Seagrass

March 2018

Blue Crab walking in wet sand.

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Blue Crab On The Gulf Coast

January 2015

A comic from illustrator Karen Romano Young.

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Antarctic Log 2.4

March 2018

A comic from illustrator Karen Romano Young.

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Antarctic Log 2.3

March 2018

Hastigerinella digitata's many spines support sticky, hair-like “fishing lines” made from cytoplasm (the living part of a cell – mostly fluid, salts and proteins) that entangle prey.

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Tiny, but Deadly

March 2016

Known as “viperfish”, these cryptic fish use their giant teeth to prey on other fish and can grow to be 2 feet long (24 inches).

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Midnight Hunter

March 2016

Plastic does not biodegrade; it photodegrades, which means that sunlight breaks it down into smaller and smaller pieces. These bits of plastic and plankton were collected during a 3:00 am manta net tow, and are just a sample of the plankton-like plastic pi

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Plastic Bits from the Gyre

July 2015

Dr. Maya Yamato and colleague John Ososky dissect the head of a deceased stranded fin whale in the Chesapeake Bay to examine soft tissue associated with the ears. In 2015, Yamato’s team of researchers from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural H

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Learning From A Stranded Fin Whale

March 2015

Marsh Erosion Sped Up: One of the worst places for oil to end up after a spill is in marshes, where it can kill grass and cause erosion. But how much damage does it do, how far inland does it reach, and how long does the damage last? Pictured here is oiled

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Marsh Erosion After An Oil Spill

January 2015

A raindrop falls into a surface oil slick treated with chemical dispersant.

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A Rain Drop On An Oil Slick

January 2015

An unidentified earplug from the National Museum of Natural History collection.

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Whale Earwax

January 2016

Horizontal bands of color represent different species of lichen that have adapted to the conditions at different heights above sea level.

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Lichen Zones

September 2015