Hannah Waters

Hannah Waters
Hannah Waters
Hannah Waters with the eyeball of a giant squid

Hannah Waters is a web produce, editor and writer for the Ocean Portal at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. She received Biology and Latin degrees from Minnesota’s Carleton College, sneaking off to the coasts in the summertime to study seabird colonies, conserve endangered piping plovers, and help lobstermen with their traps.

Before coming to the Smithsonian, Hannah wrote about biology and medicine for science magazines following a stint in a molecular biology lab researching the epigenetics of aging. She continues to write a science blog for Scientific American..

Collaborator Contributions

<p>Large numbers of grey reef sharks were observed at Jarvis Island, an uninhabited Pacific island, during the 2010 Pacific RAMP expedition of the NOAA Ship <em>Hi'ialakai</em>.</p>

Reef Sharks Passing Through

Large numbers of grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) were observed at Jarvis Island, an uninhabited Pacific island, during the 2010 Pacific RAMP expedition of the NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai.

But most reefs don't have so many sharks. Read about it in the blog post "Reef Sharks Repelled by People."

This purple urchin Paleopneustes cristatus is seldom seen by itself, and can be found in groups of hundreds.

Purple Sea Urchin

This purple urchin Paleopneustes cristatus is seldom seen by itself, and can be found in groups of hundreds. Dr. Dave Pawson, a senior scientist at NMNH who studies deep-sea echinoderms, is testing if the fertilized eggs of this urchin sink or are buoyant, an important question in figuring out this urchin's life cycle.

An Arctic cod rests in an ice-covered space.

Arctic Cod Beneath the Ice

An Arctic cod rests in an ice-covered space. View the “Under Arctic Ice” photo essay.

An octopus shoots ink in defense as it swims away from a scuba diver.

Octopus Shoots Ink

An octopus shoots ink in defense as it swims away from a scuba diver.

<p>This day octopus (<em><strong><a href="http://eol.org/pages/593207/overview">Octopus cyanea</a></strong></em>) has shaped itself like seagrass or some coral so hide from predators or stalk prey.</p>

Camouflaged Octopus Blends In

Octopuses can change the texture and color of their skin to blend in with their surroundings. This day octopus (Octopus cyanea) has shaped itself like seagrass or some coral so hide from predators or stalk prey.

<p>This common octopus (<em><strong><a href="http://eol.org/data_objects/13144942">Octopus vulgaris</a></strong></em>) shows off its siphon, which it uses to propel itself through the water.</p>

Octopus Shows Off Its Siphon

This common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) doesn't have a jetpack to help him zoom through the water, but he's got something pretty close: a siphon that shoots water. (It's the little orange/yellow cup in the picture.) Octopuses pull water into their mantle cavities and then squeeze it out through the siphon (also called a funnel) at the front of their mantles to both swim and steer.

A veined octopus briefly leaves its hiding place, a shell, to devour a crab.

Octopus Eating a Crab

A veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) briefly leaves its hiding spot, a seafloor shell, to devour a crab.

Gentoo penguin mother with her chick in Antarctica.

Gentoo Penguin Mother and Chick

A gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) mother stands with her chick in Antarctica. When walking on land, gentoo penguins waddle with their long tails dragging behind them; but in the water, they are the fastest penguins of them all, reaching swimming speeds of 36 kilometers per hour (around 22 miles per hour).

A harp seal pup rests on the ice at sunset in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.

Harp Seal Pup at Sunset

A harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) pup rests on the ice at sunset in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada while its mother hunts. Adult harp seals have dappled gray fur, but the babies are born white and are known as "whitecoats." After 12 days of nursing, grey color begins to show and, a week later, the white fur begins to fall out in patches.

Two bright orange anemonefish poke their heads between anemone tentacles.

Anemonefish in their Host Anemone

Two bright orange anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) poke their heads between anemone tentacles. Anemonefish are able to swim amongst the stinging tentacles without getting stung -- but no one knows exactly sure how. One dominant theory explains that they have a protective slime coating their bodies. However, anemonefish are not born with this protective slime and scientists don't know how they develop it.

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