Fish use colorful patterns to signal to each other, including advertising for mates and warding off rivals. Studying the relationship between color and behavior sometimes entails anesthetizing and photographing the fish, but anesthetics may alter coloration, influencing the traits researchers are trying to study.
Read moreA team of researchers captured the 3D motion of an athlete performing undulatory swimming. They find that the vortex wakes created led to jet flows that contribute to the propulsion. This research has implication for energy efficient eel-like sailing.
Read moreA new study revealed a more complex view than current standard predictions of coral bleaching events caused primarily by heat stress; rather, the scientists found that bleaching is driven by a variety of stressors, and each region responds differently.
Read moreSeagrass meadows put down deep roots, persisting in the same spot for hundreds and possibly thousands of years, a new study shows. Researchers used modern and fossil shells from seagrass-dwelling animals to estimate the age of these meadows, showing that, far from being transient patches of underwater weeds, they are remarkably stable over time.
Read moreA non-invasive approach could help marine biologists monitor coral health in the face of climate change.
Read moreCorals exude chemical defenses against bacteria, but when heated in the lab, those defenses lost much potency against a pathogen common in coral bleaching. There's hope: A key coral's defense was heartier when that coral was taken from an area where fishing was banned and plenty of fish were left to eat away seaweed that was overgrowing corals elsewhere.
Read moreScientists, inspired by the clingfish's suction power, set out to develop an artificial suction cup that borrows from nature's design. Their prototype actually performed better than the clingfish.
Read moreWhite sharks are top predators in the marine environment, but unlike their terrestrial counterparts, very little is known about their predatory activity underwater, with current knowledge limited to surface predation events. Now, a team of international scientists has used video- and data-logging technology to shed new light on predator-prey interactions of these mighty sea creatures.
Read moreResearchers have devised a way to accurately estimate the weight of free-living whales using only aerial images taken by drones.
Read moreScientists have found that global tuna catches have increased over 1,000 per cent in the past six decades, fueled by a massive expansion of industrial fisheries.
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