Today's Catch
Nov 29, 2012
Credit:Courtesy of David Littschwager/National Geographic Society
Over a 10-year period NOAA scientists have collected 72,000 seawater samples, and their data show that the ocean is becoming more acidic because of climate change -caused warming. That small shift is enough to dissolve the shells of animals like this pteropod in the lab—or even in the ocean. Because of acidifying waters, pteropod shells have already started dissolving in the Southern Ocean.Read more
Nov 28, 2012
Credit:© Brian Skerry, www.brianskerry.com
A male great hammerhead shark swims in the Bahamas at sunset in this image captured by National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry. For nearly 30 years, Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all over the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, " Swimming with Sharks ," Skerry...Read more
Nov 27, 2012
Credit:Smithsonian Institution
Researchers with the Smithsonian's Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) collected this sea toad, Chaunax pictus , off the coast of Honduras in 2011. The team is trying to collect sea toads from around the Caribbean to better understand the group's genetic diversity and distribution. You can see videos and read about the DROP team's other explorations on the " Summer in a Sub " blog series.Read more
Nov 22, 2012
Credit:Chuck Savall
The spotfin lionfish ( Pterois antennata ) , with venomous spines extended, is native to Indo-Pacific reefs, but has invaded reefs in Florida, the Caribbean and is moving up the Atlantic coast. It probably escaped from an aquarium. Lionfish are aggressive predators and threaten local species. It is also referred to as a turkeyfish because depending on how you view the lionfish it can look like...Read more
Nov 21, 2012
Credit:S. Brooke OIMB
New, white growth emerges from a living deep-sea coral sample that was stained pink, enabling ocean scientists to measure its coral growth rate. Find out more about how ocean scientists study deep-sea corals in our Deep-sea Corals article.Read more
Nov 20, 2012
Credit:E. Widder, ORCA, www.teamorca.org
This lanternfish ( Diaphus sp .), found in the Red Sea, has light-producing photophores along its ventral surface (belly), and a nasal light organ that acts like a headlight. Hear scientists tell stories about encountering bioluminescent marine animals in the deep sea .Read more
Nov 19, 2012
Credit:Nico Smit
Isopods (small, shrimp-like animals) like this one ( Gnathia aureusmaculosa ) are the mosquitoes of the sea, sucking the blood of fish while they sleep. Find out more in " No Fouling Around " from the Citizens of the Sea blog series.Read more
Nov 16, 2012
Credit:©1999 MBARI
The dumbo octopus ( Grimpoteuthis ) is a deep sea animal that lives on the ocean floor at extreme depths of 9,800 to 13,000 feet. They are small animals, around 8 inches tall, and have a pair of fins located on their mantle—their namesake—and webbing between their arms. Grimpoteuthis swim often hover just above the seafloor looking for snails, worms, and other food. Watch rare (and beautiful)...Read more
Nov 15, 2012
Credit:Jeff Dawson
The feathery strands at the back of this nudibranch’s ( Chromodoris willani ) body are no mere adornment: they’re its gills! Nudibranchs, shell-less snails or sea slugs, are named for these tufted gills, as "nudibranch" comes from Latin and Greek words meaning "naked gills." They're known for their bright coloration , and this species, found in Western Pacific Ocean coral reefs , ranges from dark...Read more
Nov 9, 2012
Credit:Courtesy of Danielle Dixson, Georgia Institute of Technology
One of the first signs of a sick coral reef is seaweed creeping across the corals, stealing their precious sunny real estate. Healthy corals, however, aren't completely hopeless: in some reefs, small fishes, such as this broad-barred goby ( Gobiodon histrio ), help eat the seaweeds away. But how do corals contact the fish to ask for cleaning services? By sending out a chemical signal .Read more
