marine biology Archives

Coelacanth, Shelf Life Episode 3, American Museum of Natural History Video

Fishing for Facts: Studying the Rare Coelacanth

April 8, 2015April 4, 2021 Science Connectedevolution, fish, marine biology, ocean, shelf life, taxonomy

Find out how coelacanth bodies are preserved so you can view them in natural history museums. Video, Shelf Life Episode Three. Meet the Coelacanth Coelacanths (see-la-kanths) are large, ancient fish with arm-like fins and armor-like scales. They can be found in the fossil record through the time of the dinosaurs, but disappear about 70 million years ago. Everyone thought the creature was extinct. Then, in 1938, the coelacanth splashed into the modern world when one was caught in a fishing net off the coast of South Africa. The prehistoric specimen…

Polar Bears: Tasul the polar bear (Oregon Zoo)

Biology Environment Zoology

Polar Bears Are Struggling to Find Food

April 7, 2015April 4, 2021 Science Connectedbiology, climate change, marine biology, nutrition, wildlife

Find out what is happening to the polar bears: As the arctic ice melts, polar bears must look for food on land, and there isn’t enough.

Bluefin Tuna at the Hopkins Marine Station, Monterey Bay Aquarium in California (©Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder)

Biology Oceanography Zoology

Tuna Stay Warm with Cold Hearts

February 9, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedaquaculture, fish, marine biology

The heart of a bluefin tuna keeps pumping during extreme temperature changes that would stop a human heart, according to a joint team of scientists from the University of Manchester and Stanford University. Pacific bluefin tuna are top predators renowned for their epic migrations across the Pacific Ocean. They are also unique amongst bony fish as they are warm bodied (endothermic) and can raise their core body temperature to 20°C above that of the surrounding water. They can also dive down into much colder water 1000 meters or more below…

Harlequin filefish can disguise their smell to confuse predators (Tane Sinclair-Taylor)

Biology Zoology

Harlequin Filefish Uses Smell to Fool Predators

December 16, 2014April 4, 2021 Science Connectedfish, marine biology, oceanography

Harlequin filefish can disguise their smell to hide from predators. In fact, they can make themselves smell like coral instead of fish. By Kate Stone Researchers have found an ingenious coral-eating fish that can change its smell to hide from predators. It’s the harlequin filefish, and it camouflages its scent to smell like the coral it’s eating. In other words, it manages to smell like its own food, and not like something else’s. “By feeding on corals, the harlequin filefish ends up smelling enough like its food that predators have…