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Jul 26 2011 - 11:45am
Macroscopic algae (Ventricaria ventricosa), also known as "bubble algae" or "sea pearl," is widespread algal species that can withstand low light. Each of the bubbles is a single cell, making it one of the largest single-celled organisms known, reaching up to 5 centimeters in diameter. They are...
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Mar 19 2013 - 9:00am
This foraminifer was collected as it floated about 3 meters below the surface off the coast of Puerto Rico. The central dark area is the shell surrounded by spines. The tiny yellow dots are symbiotic algae, which live in the protoplasm of the host organism. When the foraminifer dies, the...
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Sep 6 2012 - 11:05am
In the ocean, microscopic forms of algae, known as dinoflagellates, can "bloom" into dense patches near the surface, often referred to as "red tides." Some of these harmful algal blooms (HABs) are dangerous, producing toxins that can kill marine organisms, taint shellfish, cause skin irritations,...
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Apr 20 2012 - 2:44pm
Two years ago last week, on April 20, 2010, an explosion on the oil-drilling rig Deepwater Horizon caused the largest marine oil spill in history, gushing nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil over the course of three months.
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Mar 25 2010 - 4:23pm
Microscopic, single-celled organisms called foraminifera have a fossil record that extends from today to more than 500 million years ago. Although each foram is just a single cell, they build complex shells around themselves from minerals in the seawater. These shells have accumulated in layers of...
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Jun 8 2010 - 8:33pm
Ari Daniel Shapiro is joined for this episode of The Podcast of Life by science contributor Josh Kurz, who tells the story of dinoflagellates through "music from the bottom of the food chain." There are "billions of these microscopic creatures in every bucket of the salty sea," Kurz reveals. Learn...
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Mar 26 2010 - 1:09pm
Brian Huber studies fossil organisms known as “forams” to learn about climate change in this video snippet from the Smithsonian Marine Collections video.
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Sep 9 2011 - 11:27am
Sunset? Time to glow! A biological clock triggers bioluminescence in the dinoflagellate Pyrocystis fusiformis. At dusk, cells produce the chemicals responsible for its light. Hear from marine scientists about what it's like to encounter bioluminescent animals in the deep sea.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Marc Frischer, a microbial ecologist at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, collects bacteria at the Smithsonian Institution’s field station in Belize. Smithsonian scientists and colleagues from around the world are studying mangrove diversity and the threats they face.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Dinoflagellates are an important group of phytoplankton that produce oxygen in marine and freshwater. Some species form symbiotic relationships with larger animals, including corals (zooxanthellae), jellyfish, sea anemones, nudibranchs and others. Sometimes dinoflagellates grow out of control, to...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
Flower-like clusters of polyps make up this coral colony. Their pink color comes from the zooxanthellae living inside. More about coral reef ecosystems can be found in our Coral Reefs featured story.
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Jun 7 2011 - 1:11pm
Searching for useful chemicals, marine scientists grow bacteria associated with deep-sea coral on nutrient agar to identify the bacteria and test their metabolic and biochemical capabilities. Some may be sources of potential medicines. Learn more about how ocean scientists study deep-sea corals in...
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Dec 3 2009 - 1:14pm
Tiny plant-like organisms called zooxanthella live in the tissues of many animals, including some corals, anemones, and jellyfish, sponges, flatworms, mollusks and foraminifera. These microscopic algae capture sunlight and convert it into energy, just like plants, to provide essential nutrients to...
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Apr 13 2012 - 2:46pm
The Titanic's sinking around 100 years ago created a new underwater habitat for organisms: the wreck itself. One of these is a species of bacteria -- named Halomonas titanicae after the great ship -- that lives inside icicle-like growths of rust, called "rusticles." These bacteria eat iron in the...
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