Over the last five years, large, predatory Humboldt squid have moved north from equatorial waters and invaded the sea off Central California, where they may be decimating populations of Pacific hake, an important commercial fish.

According to a new study in this week’s journal Science these floating islands of ice—some over 20 kilometers (12 miles) across—are having a major impact on the ecology and chemistry of the ocean around them.

It sounds like a junior high school riddle—"What lives 3,000 feet below the ocean surface, is about the size of a marble, and looks like the back side of a pig?" MBARI biologist Karen Osborn and her colleagues recently came up with an answer to this riddle by combining modern DNA analysis with traditional methods of scientific observation.

On September 17, 2006, researchers from NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary program and MBARI will embark on a expedition to study the submerged wreck of the airship USS Macon, the largest and last U.S.-built, rigid lighter-than-air craft.

A unique paper by researchers at MBARI and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary describes how a deep-sea communications cable affects animals living on and within the seafloor.

An international team of scientists recently announced the discovery of a new species of blind deep-sea crab whose legs are covered with long, pale yellow hairs. This crab was first observed in March 2005 by marine biologists using the research submarine Alvin to explore hydrothermal vents along the Pacific-Antarctic ridge, south of Easter Island.

A recent publication by researchers at the University of Rhode Island and at MBARI details the first observations of brooding in a deep-sea squid, with the mother carrying the eggs between her arms until the young hatch and swim away.

Each winter, storm waves sweep thousands of tons of beach sand along the coast of Monterey Bay. This sand is carried parallel to shore until it reaches Moss Landing, where it enters the head of Monterey Canyon.

As successful fishermen know, if you want to catch fish, you have to use the right bait or lure. This is true even in the deep sea, where scientists recently discovered a new species of jelly that attracts fish by wiggling hundreds of glowing red lures.

Jun 9, 2005 – After analyzing hundreds of hours of deep-sea video, Bruce Robison and his colleagues found that "sinkers"—the cast-off mucus nets of small midwater animals called larvaceans—are a significant source of food for deep-sea organisms.

After analyzing hundreds of hours of deep-sea video, Bruce Robison and his colleagues found that "sinkers"—the cast-off mucus nets of small midwater animals called larvaceans—are a significant source of food for deep-sea organisms.

MBARI oceanographer John Ryan recently published a scientific paper describing how Monterey Canyon can influence the growth and distribution of phytoplankton.

This February, MBARI geologists are using the research vessel Western Flyer and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Tiburon to explore several submarine canyons and undersea landslides off the Southern California coast.

Scientists studying a whale carcass in Monterey Canyon recently announced the discovery of two new species of unique worms that feed on the bones of dead whales.

Wart-like bumps of stinging cells cover the feeding arms and bell of a newly described deep-sea jelly. The description was published by MBARI biologists in this month’s issue of the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

Exploring a deep-sea ridge off Northern California, scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have discovered a unique undersea nursery, where groups of fish and octopus brood their eggs, like chickens on their nests. This is the first time that marine biologists have directly observed any deep-sea fish brooding its eggs.

In photographs, it looks like a big red spaceship cruising the ocean depths. But it’s actually a new species of jelly that was discovered and described by scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. MBARI scientists published their research on this unusual animal in a recent online version of the journal Marine Biology.

In the late 1930s, California's sardines supported the biggest fishery in the western hemisphere, with more than half a million tons of fish caught each year. By the mid-1950s, the sardines had virtually disappeared. Although fishing pressure may have played a part in this process, new research published in the current issue of Science indicates that the sardines' demise was part of a 50-year cycle that affects not just California, but the entire Pacific Ocean.

In February of 2002, MBARI researchers Robert Vrijenhoek and Shana Goffredi discovered a recent whale fall while exploring the outer portion of the Monterey Canyon with a remotely operated vehicle.

Robert Vrijenhoek, an evolutionary geneticist at MBARI, has spent his career studying how an organism’s genes can shape its interactions with its surroundings, the evolution of its species as a whole, and—if the animal is endangered—its conservation. Thirteen years ago, he turned his attention to the exotic organisms that populate hydrothermal vents and cold seeps.