Biology Stack Exchange
Biology Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [marine-biology]

The study of organisms that dwell in the ocean or brackish waters.

Marine biology (wikipedia) is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on taxonomy. See also the article on Large Marine Ecosystem.

217 questions
37
votes
1 answer

Is the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" beneficial for marine wildlife?

A study was just released by researchers at Scripps Institute of Oceanography revealing a drastic increase in the amount of plastic adrift in the Pacific Ocean. According to the paper, the amount of plastic in the North Pacific Subtropical…
samthebrand
  • 480
  • 4
  • 8
10
votes
1 answer

Why are market squid attracted to fishing lights but also avoid naturally lit surface waters during daytime/full moons?

Squid fishermen use really bright lights (which can be seen from space!) to attract squid to the surface at night, but a lot of squid also naturally avoid surface waters that are lit during the day (by the sun) and at night (by full moon). As far as…
Mackenzie Smith
  • 371
  • 1
  • 5
8
votes
1 answer

Can jellyfish sting outside of water?

According to my understanding of the Wikipedia page on the stinging cells of the jellyfish, the mechanism of delivering the toxic missile is largely due to water pressure. Does that mean that a jellyfish on land (or brought out water) is unable to,…
personjerry
  • 306
  • 1
  • 9
8
votes
1 answer

What would be the best dredging/trawling tools to collect macrofaunal priapulids?

Title says it all. I've been searching for the best way of collecting macrofaunal priapulids and would like advice on sampling methods and particularly sampling tools. Since large priapulids are usually found in low densities any form of…
plitter
  • 189
  • 1
8
votes
3 answers

Why is oxygen used up in eutrophication?

This probably sounds pretty dumb, but wouldn't algae blooms produce a lot of oxygen? Although they would die out and decomposers would use up oxygen, is that more than what the algae produced?
guest
  • 171
  • 2
  • 4
5
votes
0 answers

is this a soft coral on sand?

Was diving a few days ago at Jervis Bay (Australian East Coast - temperate). Water temp 20 degrees C, depth 5m. Spotted this creature in the sand. About 150mm high. It isn't sea-pen (Cnidarian) as it doesn't retract if touched and is wrong shape.…
ScubaAl
  • 51
  • 1
4
votes
2 answers

Why do marine animals have fins?

Why do Marine animals have fins.
user2973
  • 57
  • 2
3
votes
0 answers

Effect of toxin-producing phytoplankton on zooplankton?

I've been searching for quite a while without really finding an answer to this question, so I decided to try it here. Some phytoplankton species produce toxins as a defense strategy. But what exactly happens to the predator, e.g., to…
gumpel
  • 31
  • 1
3
votes
0 answers

Octopus out of water

I was watching a YouTube video where a guy saw an octopus out of water. It was far from a puddle, and looked like it was struggling. He decided to help it get to the next puddle, so he picked it up and said he hoped it did not bite him or ink. It…
SlipEternal
  • 131
  • 2
2
votes
1 answer

Resources to learn about marine life

I recently saw the documentary series Blue Planet 2 and was mesmerised by it. Can someone recommend me some resources to learn about marine life? I am particularly looking for those that detail the habits and lifestyles of marine organisms. P.S. -…
Sarthak Nigam
  • 29
  • 2
2
votes
2 answers

marine animal tracking databases

Which databases you know that store data on tracking of marine animals? I am interested particularly on mammals (for which I know meop storing data on sea lions) but also on fish schools (not sure they exist though).
shamalaia
  • 123
  • 5
1
vote
0 answers

Pearl formation process: what is it called? How does it work?

I have heard a pearl is a disease of oysters. Astonished by the statement, I searched a bit [1] and I discovered that it is really a protection mechanism of the oyster. I know this defense mechanism is not unique in nature. E.g. humans can isolate…
mattia.b89
  • 167
  • 6
1
vote
1 answer

Is life in the open ocean homogenously spread?

Obviously around land masses or in shallow water where reefs and coral may grow, life is diverse and numerous. But how spread out is sea life in the open ocean (for example, half-way between Hawaii and California) where there is no land mass or…
Dylan Russell
  • 119
  • 1
1
vote
1 answer

Can box jellyfish see with their eyes?

While normal jellyfish don't have any eyes, box jellyfish have 24 eyes. Looking into my question on the internet, in one answer on Quora to the question Do jellyfish have eyes?, it is said that: While box jellyfish have eyes, they cannot process…
Chris Rogers
  • 277
  • 2
  • 12
1
vote
0 answers

Why does the colossal squid range over only the Southern Ocean?

Wikipedia's article on the colossal squid gives the distribution as in the Southern Ocean only. It makes sense for many animals found in the Antarctic to not also be found in the Artic even if the environments are similar, simply because there's no…
Allure
  • 537
  • 2
  • 11
1
2