Oceans
- Animals
Parrotfish shape the future of coral reefs, one bite at a time
Could these colorful fish aid struggling coral? Yes, but not always. Parrotfish play a complex role in reefs — and sometimes may cause harm.
- Animals
Save the sharks to save the ocean
Humans have driven sharks and their cousins to the brink of extinction, but it’s not too late to turn the tide. At stake is the health of the entire ocean.
- Animals
Explainer: What is a shark?
These fish have skeletons made of cartilage, not bone — and aren’t nearly as scary as portrayed in the media.
- Animals
A shark encounter inspired this researcher’s career in marine biology
Heidy Martinez never wanted to study sharks as a kid. That changed after encountering a white shark in South Africa.
- Animals
Whale pee is an ocean bounty
Some migrating cetaceans move thousands of miles to their breeding grounds, where whale urine fertilizes ocean waters with valuable nutrients.
- Environment
New ocean sanctuaries house young coral and even flee peril
Two ISEF finalists want to foster growth of new coral reefs. So these teens designed and built self-navigating, undersea houseboats for coral larvae.
- Animals
Some fish have legs that can taste prey underfoot
Taste buds on those legs may explain why northern sea robins are so good at finding food that is buried in the sandy seafloor.
- Animals
Narwhals may use their enormous lance-like tusks to play
Video shows narwhals using their tusks to prod — even flip — fish they don’t target as prey. It’s the first reported evidence of these whales playing.
- Earth
Can engineering save Antarctica’s most vulnerable glacier?
Bold engineering projects might stabilize Thwaites Glacier and slow sea level rise. But no one knows if they will work — or have serious side effects.
- Animals
A changing Arctic current seems to be impacting bowhead whales
A teen researcher investigated bowhead whales and found their migrations may be responding to a changing sea current.
- Planets
So many wondrous moons — just a spaceship ride away
Scientists are studying extraterrestrial moons for clues to how planets form, how life began — and whether there’s life out there right now.
- Oceans
The world’s largest coral is longer than a blue whale
Scientists found the coral off the coast of the Solomon Islands.
