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.
April 7, 2020 – A 30-year study off the California coast has revealed dramatic fluctuations in deep-sea animal communities.
February 20, 2020 – Time-lapse photography in the deep sea over 30 years reveals sponges “coughing” and moving across the seafloor.
May 9, 2019 – A new study examines how sediments from human activities like bottom trawling for fish, are affecting glass sponges in British Columbia, Canada.
Sept 5, 2017 – Marine biologists describe three new species of predatory sponges that live in the depths off California and Baja California.
Jun 3, 2016 – In early June researchers from MBARI and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary traveled to Sur Ridge to study the corals and sponges that grow on this fascinating underwater mountain.
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.