New research reveals a potential link between the gut microbes of a fish and global ocean processes, offering new insight into how marine ecosystems help regulate ocean chemistry and the marine carbon cycle.

A new study published in Animal Behaviour found that bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida, that engage in risky human-centric foraging behaviors, such as taking bait or catch from fishing gear, scavenging discarded bait or fish, or approaching humans for food tend to associate more with other dolphins that use similar tactics. The study also found that severe harmful algal blooms, commonly known as red tides, altered the relationship between these foraging behaviors and dolphin social structure. 

The research was led by Kyra Bankhead of Oregon State University, with co-authors Mauricio Cantor of Oregon State University, Katherine McHugh and Randall Wells of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, which is operated by Brookfield Zoo Chicago. 

Analysis of a little-studied museum fossil has given new insights into a mysterious gap in the fossil record at the end of the Cambrian Period – a time when complex marine life started to evolve and diversify.

Scientists have shown conclusively for the first time that tiny marine organisms in polar oceans survived the mass extinction event that wiped out prehistoric dinosaurs because they needed less energy and were more tolerant to darkness.

Scuba-diving tourism, which is widely promoted as a sustainable way to experience coral reefs, is causing frequent and often hidden damage to fragile marine ecosystems.

Lakes play a vital filtering role in the ecosystem: they remove excess nitrogen from the water. An international research team led by the University of Basel and Eawag has now shown that climate change could weaken this natural purification process. This would have consequences extending all the way to coastal marine ecosystems.

Researchers have discovered a new species of tiny sea slug named Thecacera sesama in Keelung, Taiwan, which measures less than three millimeters long and lives on aquatic invertebrates called bryozoans. Published in the journal ZooKeys, the discovery highlights the vast number of minute marine species that likely remain hidden due to the region's harsh and highly restricted diving conditions.