December 7, 2020 – MBARI scientists confirm the first evidence of bioluminescence in a sponge, showing that the sponges contain the chemicals necessary to make light within their bodies.
Nov 23, 2020 – Researchers recently discovered the largest aggregation of fishes ever recorded at abyssal depths (below 3,000 meters or 9,800 feet) in the ocean.
July 13, 2020 – A new research paper shows that some of the most common and iconic deep-sea corals can create their own light.
April 7, 2020 – A 30-year study off the California coast has revealed dramatic fluctuations in deep-sea animal communities.
March 5, 2020 – Research in the depths of the Gulf of California give scientists a clue as to how climate change could affect fish communities.
February 20, 2020 – Time-lapse photography in the deep sea over 30 years reveals sponges “coughing” and moving across the seafloor.
January 16, 2020 – Little red jellies are commonplace near the deep seafloor in Monterey Bay. Now scientists are finding that their evolution and relationships to one another are probably incorrect.
September 18, 2019 – Researchers test methods to restore deep-sea corals via translocation at Sur Ridge.
September 11, 2019 – In a recent study, researchers compiled data from 18 years of rare video observations on deep-water skates.
January 17, 2019 – Marine biologists recently discovered large schools of fishes thriving in low-oxygen conditions that would be deadly to most other fish.
December 12, 2018 – Marine biologists recently discovered five new species of colorful nudibranchs on the deep seafloor offshore of California and Baja California.
May 7, 2018 – Researchers have named 14 new species and created a new family tree of bone-eating (Osedax) worms.
Jan 31, 2018 – A recent paper describes an unusual discovery: dead squid littered across the deep sea bottom.
Sept 5, 2017 – Marine biologists describe three new species of predatory sponges that live in the depths off California and Baja California.
Nov 4, 2016 – An unusual deep-sea fish that was previously identified in the Southeastern Pacific has recently been found to live around the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of Central California as well.
Oct 27, 2016 – A recent paper shows that some juvenile king crabs hitch rides on wandering sea cucumbers, perhaps as a way of evading predators.
Feb 8, 2016 – The deep sea is full of strange and little-known worms. A new paper coauthored by MBARI molecular biologist Robert Vrijenhoek describes four newly named species of worms in the genus Xenoturbella that have mouths, but no eyes, brains, stomachs, or anuses.
Acorn worms have historically been thought of as shallow-water animals that live in burrows in muddy-bottom areas. Only four species were known to live in deep water. However, a recent paper by MBARI collaborator Karen Osborn and her coauthors shows that acorn worms live in the deep ocean environments around the world.
Research programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) encompass the entire ocean, from the surface waters to the deep seafloor, and from the coastal zone to the open sea. The need to understand the ocean in all its complexity and variability drives MBARI's research and development efforts.