Media Gallery: Photos Newest

  • Waves play an important role in the way coastal ecosystems function, and also provide tourism dollars because of their draw for surfers.

    The Importance of a Wave
    Apr 11 2013 - 9:32am
    Large waves are a draw for surfers, scientists and spectators alike to locations around the world. Changes to the coast and ocean floor as well as sediment flow can change the nature of a wave as it...
  • <p>Hawaiian squirrelfish (<em>Sargocentron xantherythrum</em>) are almost entirely nocturnal, so they need big eyes to absorb as much moonlight and starlight as they can in the dark.</p>

    A School of Hawaiian Squirrelfish
    Apr 10 2013 - 9:03am
    Check out the eyes on these Hawaiian squirrelfish (Sargocentron xantherythrum)! Because squirrelfish are almost entirely nocturnal, they need big eyes to absorb as much moonlight and starlight as...
  • <p>Instead of females, male seahorses carry the developing seahorse embryos in a kangaroo-like pouch. During mating season, the female deposits her eggs into the pouch, and the male fertilizes them. After about two weeks of development, out pop the seahorse fry, ready to swim off and explore the ocean world. Here is a very pregnant short-snouted seahorse (<em>Hippocampus breviceps</em>) in Australia.</p>

    A Pregnant Seahorse
    Apr 9 2013 - 9:46am
    Instead of females, male seahorses carry the developing seahorse embryos in a kangaroo-like pouch. During mating season, the female deposits her eggs into the pouch, and the male fertilizes them....
  • Striped eel catfish are the only species of catfish found in coral reefs.

    Striped Eel Catfish
    Apr 8 2013 - 9:11am
    When most people think of catfish, they think of a freshwater fish. But the striped eel catfish (Plotosus lineatus) is found in marine systems including coral reefs, estuaries, tide pools and other...
  • <p>This nudibranch (sea slug) was thought to be extinct in the region since 1984 due to pollution. But it has been spotted off the Southern California coast several times since 2003.</p>

    The Comeback Sea Slug
    Apr 5 2013 - 9:12am
    This nudibranch, or shell-less marine snail, is making a comeback to a location it hasn't been to in years along the California coast. First discovered off the coast of Southern California in 1902,...
  • <p>This beautiful polychaete (bristly worm) called <em>Tomopteris carpenteri </em>was photographed by Census of Marine Life researchers in Antarctica's Southern Ocean.</p>

    A Striped Deep Sea Worm
    Apr 4 2013 - 12:38pm
    In Antarctica's Southern Ocean swims a beautiful polychaete (bristly worm) called Tomopteris carpenteri, which is adorned with alternating red and transparent bands. The largest species in its genus...
  • A humpback whale breaching in Antarctic waters.

    Humpback Whale in Antarctic Waters
    Apr 4 2013 - 9:22am
    Humpback whales (Megaptera novaengliae) can be found in Antarctic waters during the spring and summer in the Southern hemisphere, where they gorge on their main food source: tiny krill. How do they...
  • “Every March, up to 200,000 harp seal pups are born on sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 2011, storms and lack of ice-cover due to a warmer winter climate resulted in hundreds of seal pups being washed up on the shore of Prince Edward Island. Like many, this young seal faced an uncertain future. Nearly three weeks old, it was weaned but not yet ready to swim on its own, leaving it vulnerable to predation or drowning. For me, this image expresses the vulnerability of not only this individual, but the entire harp seal population.” -- Nature's Best Photographer, John Sylvester

    Harp Seal, Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada
    Apr 3 2013 - 9:04am
    Harp seals are protected in the United States by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Although they are not considered endangered, as sea ice melting earlier and earlier each year, available harp seal...
  • <p>The Arctic comb jelly or sea nut (<em><strong><a href="http://eol.org/pages/393273/overview">Mertensia ovum</a></strong></em>) has two tentacles fringed with smaller tentacles, which are dappled with glue-like cells called colloblasts.</p>

    Arctic Comb Jelly
    Apr 2 2013 - 9:30am
    The Arctic comb jelly or sea nut (Mertensia ovum) is commonly found in the surface (top 50 meters) in cold, northern waters. Like other cydippid ctenophores, it has two tentacles fringed with smaller...
  • The frogfish uses camouflage to hide from predators.

    Three-spot Frogfish
    Apr 1 2013 - 9:36am
    The three-spot frogfish (Lophiocharon trisignatus), seen here off the coast of Western Australia, looks like it might just be a rock or a part of the sea floor! Frogfish use various methods of...

  • Sea Hare in the Intertidal Zone
    Mar 31 2013 - 8:42am
    The sea hare gets its common name from its equivalent of nose and tongue—external sensory organs for smell and taste called rhinophores—which look like bunny ears. The sea hare, however, doesn't hop...
  • “It was shaping up to be a bad night dive when my mask broke and I was forced to come up early. The others continued diving and I was becoming a bit bored at the surface when I suddenly spotted some grey reef sharks hunting in the light of our ship. I took the opportunity and grabbed my camera to take some night shots as they came very close to check out me and our lights.” -- Nature's Best Photographer, Tobias Friedrich

    Grey Reef Shark, West New Britain, Father Reefs, Papua New Guinea
    Mar 28 2013 - 9:45am
    Gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) are known for being active at night. They are considered Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List due to fishing and the loss of their coral reef habitat....