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Marine life is the essence of MarineBio, so in this section we explore information on the science, biology, taxonomy, morphology, behavior, and ecological relationships of the fascinating marine life that inhabits the ocean.


What is Marine Biology? Learn all about the science of Marine Biology.	A History of the Study of Marine Biology Captain James Cook (1728-1779) in 18th century Britain...
The Naming of Life: Marine Taxonomy Classification of species into evolutionary relationships.	Forests of the Sea Phytoplankton, diatoms, dinoflagellates, algae, sea grasses, and kelp...
Coral Reefs Shelter, recreation, medicines, sand... the work of millions of coral polyps...	Zooplankton Billions of tiny animals found throughout the ocean.
Marine Invertebrates These spineless animals include sponges, cnidarians, worms, mollusks...	Marine Vertebrates From polar bears to the 27,000+ species of fishes and counting...
Structures & Adaptations to Marine Living Fins, scales, flashing lights...	Grazers & Predators We're familiar with grazers and predators on land, how do they behave in the sea?
Marine Life Cycles Fission, budding, eggs that hatch internally, eggs that hatch externally, live births...	Symbionts, Parasites, Hosts & Cooperation Every form of interaction between species.
Marine Ecology Marine life habitats, populations and interactions among organisms...	Trophic Structure All organisms can be placed in trophic levels depending what energy source they rely upon...
Biotic Structure The way organisms interact within an ecosystem. Food webs vs food chains...	Ecological Regulation Complex webs of factors that fit together to form balanced life systems...
Marine Species Database Endangered, threatened, and most common marine species.	Marine Life Photos Browse photos from some of the world's best photographers and MarineBio staff...
Marine Life Videos Videos from expeditions and across the Web of marine life...	Marine Life Forums The latest research & news, marine conservation, marine animals & plants...

What is Marine Biology?
- Marine biology is the study of life in the oceans and other saltwater environments such as estuaries and wetlands. All plant and animal life forms are included from the microscopic picoplankton all the way to the majestic blue whale, the largest creature in the sea—and for that matter in the world...

A History of the Study of Marine Biology
- It wasn't until the writings of Aristotle from 384-322 BC that specific references to marine life were recorded. Aristotle identified a variety of species including crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks, and fish...

The Naming of Life: Marine Taxonomy
- Marine taxonomy and the science of naming life and evolutionary relationships...

Forests of the Sea: Phytoplankton and Marine plants
- Phytoplankton, Diatoms, Dinoflagellates, Algae, Seagrasses, and Kelp Beds: Forests of the Sea...

Coral Reefs
- Importance, variety and conservation issues...

Zooplankton
- Taxonomy, Nanoplanktonic Flagellates, Cnidarians, Rotifera, Chaetognatha, Marine Gastropods, Polychaeta, Copepods, Cladocerans, Krill, Insect Larvae, Tunicates...

Marine Invertebrates
- Sponges, Cnidarians, Worms, Lophophorates, Molluscs, Arthropods, Echinoderms, and Hemichordates...

Marine Vertebrates
- Fishes, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals...

The Structures & Adaptations to Marine Living
- Here we look at the development and uses of marine body types, common characteristics like fins, scales and shells. We'll see how "different" marine life really is...

The Grazers & Predators
- Let's look at the different roles of marine life. We're familiar with grazers and predators on land, how do they behave in the sea..?

Marine Life Cycles
- We have fission, budding, eggs that hatch internally, eggs that hatch externally, live births, some start as plankton (zooplankton), some are born in fresh water, some are born on land...

Symbionts, Parasites, Hosts & Cooperation
- Every form of interaction between different species is seen in the sea. Some creatures depend on each other for food, protection or a just a safe place to lay eggs. A parasite isn't always bad... see examples of cooperation that we humans could learn from...

Marine Ecology
- Marine life habitats, populations and interactions among organisms and their environment...

Trophic Structure
- All organisms in an ecosystem can be placed in trophic levels depending what energy source they rely upon and how they provide energy for other organisms in the food web...

Biotic Structure
- The way organisms interact within an ecosystem. Food webs vs food chains, trophic levels, symbiosis, predators...

Ecological Regulation
- Complex webs of factors that fit together to form balanced life systems capable of withstanding most changes...

Marine Species Database
- Search/browse our growing database of endangered, threatened, and most common marine species...

Marine Life Photos
- Browse photos of marine life from some of the world's best photographers and MarineBio staff from around the world...

Marine Life Videos
- Watch videos from MarineBio Expeditions and across the Web of marine life and related movies and documentaries...

Marine Life Forums
- Join discussions involving the latest research & news, marine conservation, marine animals & plants, and much more...

Marine Biology News [ScienceDaily]

Paleontologists find extinction rates higher in open-ocean settings during mass extinctions
Researchers have uncovered a strikingly pattern for ancient mass extinctions: extinctions rates during mass extinctions were significantly higher in open-ocean-facing settings than in epicontinental seas, indicating that open-ocean settings were more susceptible to the mass-extinction-causing agents.

Is 80-year-old mistake leading to first species to be fished to extinction?
A species of common skate is to become the first marine fish species to be driven to extinction by commercial fishing, due to an error of species classification 80 years ago.

Evolution of highly toxic box jellyfish unraveled
With thousands of stinging cells that can emit deadly venom from tentacles that can reach ten feet in length, the 50 or so species of box jellyfish have long been of interest to scientists and to the public. Yet little has been known about the evolution of this early branch in the animal tree of life. Researchers have now unraveled the evolutionary relationships among the various species of box jellyfish, thereby providing insight into the evolution of their toxicity.

Sea stars bulk up to beat the heat
A new study finds that a species of sea star stays cool using a strategy never before seen in the animal kingdom. The sea stars soak up cold sea water into their bodies during high tide as buffer against potentially damaging temperatures brought about by direct sunlight at low tide.

Penguins and sea lions help produce new atlas
Recording hundreds of thousands of individual uplinks from satellite transmitters fitted on penguins, albatrosses, sea lions, and other marine animals, the Wildlife Conservation Society and BirdLife International have released the first-ever atlas of the Patagonian Sea -- a globally important but poorly understood South American marine ecosystem.

Sponges Recycle Carbon To Give Life To Coral Reefs
Coral reefs live in some of the most nutrient deficient waters on the planet, so how do they survive? Marine biologists have discovered that certain sponges could be the key to reef survival. They recycle dissolved organic carbon that is unavailable to other reef residents.

Bizarre lives of bone-eating worms
It sounds like a classic horror story -- eyeless, mouthless worms lurk in the dark, settling onto dead animals and sending out green "roots" to devour their bones. In fact, such worms do exist in the deep sea. They were first discovered in 2002 by researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, who were using a robot submarine to explore Monterey Canyon. But that wasn't the end of the story. After "planting" several dead whales on the seafloor, a team of biologists recently announced that as many as 15 different species of boneworms may live in Monterey Bay alone.

Earth's Early Ocean Cooled More Than A Billion Years Earlier Than Thought
The global ocean covering the Earth 3.4 billion years ago was far cooler than has been thought, according to researchers who analyzed isotope ratios in rocks formed on that ancient ocean floor. Instead of a hot primordial soup, much more tepid temperatures prevailed. Cooler temperatures may have had effects on the evolution of the early atmosphere and could have opened the door to an earlier spread of photosynthetic life forms across the planet.

Researchers Identify What Makes Deadly Algae More Toxic
Researchers have identified a key component that increases the toxicity of golden algae which kills millions of fish in the southern U.S. every year.

Anchovy Parasite Hazard Varies Depending On Origin Of Fish, Study Finds
Researchers in Spain have confirmed a higher presence of the parasite Anisakis in anchovies of the Atlantic South East coast and the Mediterranean North West coast, and they insist on freezing or cooking fish before consuming it.

Antarctica glacier retreat creates new carbon dioxide store; has beneficial impact on climate change
Large blooms of tiny marine plants called phytoplankton are flourishing in areas of open water left exposed by the recent and rapid melting of ice shelves and glaciers around the Antarctic Peninsula. This remarkable colonization is having a beneficial impact on climate change. As the blooms die back phytoplankton sinks to the sea-bed where it can store carbon for thousands or millions of years.

California's Ancient Kelp Forest
The kelp forests off southern California are considered to be some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, yet a new study indicates that today's kelp beds are less extensive and lush than those in the recent past.

Why Do Animals, Especially Males, Have So Many Different Colors?
Why do so many animal species -- including fish, birds and insects -- display such rich diversity in coloration and other traits? New research offers an answer.

Seafloor Fossils Provide Clues To Climate Change
Deep under the sea, a fossil the size of a sand grain is nestled among a billion of its closest dead relatives. Known as foraminifera, these complex little shells of calcium carbonate can tell you the sea level, temperature, and ocean conditions of Earth millions of years ago. That is, if you know what to look for.

Boosting Coastal Economics With Crustacean Molting On Demand
Researchers are close to unraveling intricate cellular pathways that control molting in blue crabs. The discoveries could revolutionize the soft-shell crab industry, generating new jobs and additional profits for the US fishing industry along the coastal Southeast.

Creating Cultured Pearls From The Queen Conch: Scientists Unlock Mystery
In their natural form, conch pearls are among the rarest pearls in the world. For more than 25 years, all attempts at culturing pearls from the queen conch have been unsuccessful -- until now. For the first time, novel and proprietary seeding techniques to produce beaded and non-beaded high-quality cultured pearls from the queen conch have been developed by scientists.

Coral Reefs Inspire Rare Consensus -- Just Save Them
One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental conservation -- their stunning beauty is so extraordinary that almost everyone wants them protected in perpetuity.

Calm Before The Spawn: Climate Change And Coral Spawning
Biologists have explained why corals spawn for just a few nights in some places but elsewhere string out their love life over many months. A new study shows that corals spawn when regional wind fields are light. When it is calm, the eggs and sperm have the chance to unite before they are dispersed.

North Atlantic Fish Populations Shifting As Ocean Temperatures Warm
About half of 36 fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, many of them commercially valuable species, have been shifting northward over the last four decades, with some stocks nearly disappearing from US waters as they move farther offshore, according to a new study.

Tags Reveal White Sharks Have Neighborhoods In The North Pacific
A tracking study of white sharks in the northeastern Pacific Ocean shows they adhere to a rigid route of migration across the sea, returning to precisely the same spot along the California coast each time they come back, according to a team of researchers. Over time, this behavior has made the population in the northeastern Pacific genetically distinct from other white shark populations.

[ScienceDaily Marine Biology News...]

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