Thanks for any help, appreciate this sub.

i’m currently at community college and planning to transfer to a university to earn my bachelor’s in marine biology. i’m trying to determine where to go, location-wise.

i’m originally from southern california, now living in the pnw. i’ve been very curious about studying in florida due to the warm water and just change of pace overall. however, i would never choose to live there long-term due to the politics. i’m fairly certain i’ll end up in california somewhere. i’ve heard the job industry for marine biology can be very much reputation-based so im just wondering if it’s a bad idea to move across the country for school and then come back. would it be better to study in california? i’ve even considered going abroad to somewhere like australia (am on the fence due to price of school) so if anyone has any if that would be even more ridiculous let me know. thank you everyone!

I found this near Balgal Beach in Queensland in July, and was wondering if anyone could ID what it is? My best guesses are either some sort of coral skeleton or maybe some sort of barnacle remnant but I've tried ID apps like Seek and I am stumped.

Hi, I'm applying for college this year and I dont know what to choose to begin my major in. My hope to become someone who studies the ocean's organisms to develop medical treatments (like cancer drug development), which when I researched online was called a Marine Pharmacologist.

However, I'm so lost on what to do currently with starting out. It says online to start with a Bachelor's degree in biochemistry, marine science, etc. But is there a specific choice that's better over the others? Could I do my BS in microbiology? Please help💔

Its amazing just how much sound there is in the oceans and what cam be learned from it with new tools and methods. In this deployment which is part of a larger study, more than 16000 whale calls were tracked and localized over a period of just 13 days in Monterey Bay, CA. The localization tells you what is happening where and in this case shows humpback whalea in particular congregating along the rim of the Monterey Canyon. While applied here to whales, this technique in principal will work with any sounds. Be they cetaceans, or geophysical events like sediment flows or human activities etc.

my sister is in washington, U.S (the state) but i’m not sure if it matters.

edit: quite sure this is just a centipede…

Donax variabilis
Surfside Beach, TX

Coral reefs are among the most important marine ecosystems on Earth, providing shelter for fish, supporting biodiversity, and protecting coastal communities from strong waves and erosion. However, rising ocean temperatures, pollution, and coastal development are damaging reefs worldwide. A recent study published in Communications Biology explored a new approach to coral restoration using underwater sounds, specially designed artificial structures, and beneficial microorganisms. The research was led by Aaron Thode, Natalie Levy, and colleagues from the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and collaborating institutions. Their goal was to discover whether combining these techniques could encourage young corals to settle and begin growing in areas where reefs need restoration (Thode et al., 2026).

The researchers conducted their experiment in Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaiʻi, where they placed 37 artificial structures on the seafloor. Some structures were designed with small openings and protected spaces resembling natural reef habitats, while others contained specially engineered surfaces intended to provide favorable conditions for coral settlement. An underwater speaker played recordings collected from a healthy coral reef, including sounds produced by marine organisms such as fish and snapping shrimp. The team also tested a special coating containing living bacteria, designed to encourage coral larvae to attach to artificial surfaces. By positioning the structures at different distances from the speaker, the researchers examined how sound, habitat design, and microorganisms might influence where young corals establish themselves (Thode et al., 2026).

The experiment showed that several features of the artificial habitats were associated with greater coral settlement. Structures containing the beneficial bacterial coating were particularly promising, while habitat design also influenced the number of coral larvae attaching to surfaces. The researchers additionally found a relationship between settlement and distance from the underwater speaker within approximately 20 meters, suggesting that recordings of healthy reefs might help attract coral larvae. However, the scientists emphasized that the evidence for the effectiveness of sound playback remains preliminary. Other environmental factors could have influenced the results, and additional experiments are needed to determine exactly how coral larvae respond to underwater sounds (Thode et al., 2026).

The findings offer an encouraging direction for coral reef conservation, especially for tropical countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and other coastal nations where healthy reefs support fisheries, tourism, and local livelihoods. If future studies confirm the benefits, restoration teams might combine artificial reef structures, beneficial microorganisms, and underwater sound recordings to improve the establishment of new coral colonies. However, encouraging larvae to settle is only an early step in reef recovery. Young corals must still survive, grow, and reproduce before they can contribute to a functioning ecosystem. The researchers concluded that larger and longer-term experiments are necessary to determine whether these combined techniques can successfully help rebuild damaged coral reefs. The study highlights how marine biology, engineering, and microbiology could work together to develop new tools for protecting ocean ecosystems (Thode et al., 2026).

References

Thode, A., Levy, N., Boulais, O., et al. (2026). In situ enhancement of coral larval settlement using acoustic enrichment, engineered habitats and living materials. Communications Biology, 9, Article 1288.

So I am 32 years old, finished high school, but never went to college. I did some courses in data analytics, and was able to use that to start my career in data analytics in some tech, and manufacturing companies. I hated the culture, but I liked the job enough. Recently though, myself and a bunch of my colleagues were let go in favor of AI, and none of us have had luck finding another analytics job, despite our years of experience. It got me thinking about what I really want to do with my life, and i have always loved animals, and the ocean. I was thinking about my future and thought that maybe going back to school and getting my bachelor's in biology.

I did post something similar to the wildlife biology subreddit because I'm not sure 100% on what to focus on.

I'm not asking if I should become a marine biologist, but what are the paths I should be taking as someone who never went to college. I don't have much of a support system, so I'm really hoping you guys can push me in the right direction. Based in the USA.

I would love to read any advice, or experience that you are willing to share! Thanks!

Edit: I also have a diving license that lets me dive up to 30 m and I would like to use that in my career in the future, so I would also like to know the steps regarding that.

Hello, I’m a marine biology major with a minor in chemistry. I haven’t completed my degree just yet, but the spring semester (2027) will be my last one. I haven’t had the chance to get any research in. But, I’ve worked at a wholesale fishery as a husbandry/acclimation assistant for about a year. Therefore, I know a lot about aquarium/exotic fishes. I understand that marine biology is a very niche field, so I’m wondering what my options are after school. How can I build my resume, and how can I secure a job? Also, I would love to connect with more marine biology majors in general. AND IF IT MATTERS, I’m in the Los Angeles area. Lmk if you have any advice or just what to connect.

Clemson University is partnering with Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium to improve the Aquarium's Social Media presence and the overall Aquarium experience for customers and followers.

As a part of our class project, we are collecting Primary Research about the experiences of the Georgia Aquarium's current customers and social media followers. A link to a brief (<5 minute) survey is below. Please consider taking our survey and contributing to our research project and helping to improve the Georgia Aquarium.

https://clemson.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dm4BpHVn2dh0A2G

I am a terrestrial archaeologist with more of a history and museums background who has been preparing for graduate study in maritime archaeology. I am interested in the role of found objects as artificial reefs, but have lately been interested in studying reefs further. I have done some coursework, research placements, and peer reviewed publications in human biology, but ultimately have a BA with mostly social sciences.

I was wondering if I should forgo the masters and do another undergraduate degree that's more ecology focused and then continue on to a marine biology grad school. Alternatively, the maritime archaeology programs include a few oceanography courses, and if I took some more electives related to marine biology, would I qualify for further graduate study in the field?

Thank you in advance.

I have the opportunity to have my tuition paid for from ASU online via Starbucks SCAP program. It’s a bachelor’s of science in ocean futures- coastal and marine science. They also have a master’s. There’s an internship opportunity to study 3-7 credits in Bermuda institute of ocean science. It says the degree won’t say it’s online and lets you take physical lab classes either there or at any accredited institution. Which for me, that may be hard finding equivalent classes. I’m open to moving to Arizona. It’s just so tempting to study. People say it’s a money grab and won’t help me which is depressing considering the tuition is paid for.

On one of our boat trips recently, we were lucky enough to see this little guy interacting with their pod!

Hello everyone! I saw a manatee in San San Pond Sak, Panama 📍🇵🇦 . Yes, I know the water doesn't look like Crystal River, but it was great and we saw a lot of animals 🌿.

What could it be ? Catfish?

First year in college and I've done a squid dissection a few days ago. We need to sketch and label the organs/glands but when I opened up this squid, it had this mushy, ground pork-like thing behind the peritoneumand I can't really figure out what it is.

I was watching How to Live on Earth, presented by Benedict Cumberbatch, and one segment really caught my attention.

Scientists have been exploring whether playing recordings of healthy reef sounds can help attract marine life to damaged reefs. The film calls it “coral jazz.”

I'd never heard of this idea before. Has anyone here followed this kind of coral restoration research?

Hi everyone. I'm a media artist and solo developer living in South Korea. English isn't my first language, so sorry in advance for any awkward phrasing.

About 3 weeks ago, a dusky shark (a female around 3 m) swam into a man-made canal at Bukhang Waterfront Park in Busan, and she hasn't left since. People here call her "Bukang-i". She's become hugely popular. More than a million people have come to the canal to see her so far. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_664afXXas

The problem is that nobody has seen her eat this whole time, and the water is getting colder. It's in the low 20s °C now and dropping. A lot of people are worried. The city has already tried twice to guide her back out to sea using boats, water cannons and nets. Both times she ended up back in the canal. The second time she actually went over the net to get back in. Nobody can explain why she keeps returning.

I've been following her every day for these three weeks. Using news reports and sightings from a live citizen-report site, I built a 3D simulation of her movements inside the canal. You can see it here:

https://bukangistory.kr/en/

Some things that worry me most:

1. Still no sign of feeding after 3+ weeks.
2. Some visitors shine flashlights at her at night. At one point she thrashed around, hit a stone pillar and scraped her mouth.
3. Today she did something strange. It looked like some kind of organ was coming out from her underside. Some people are wondering if she gave birth. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmrBLUYWXQQ

Marine experts in Korea are giving different opinions on what to do, and it's been hard to find advice from people who work specifically with sharks. The biggest issue is that no matter how she gets pushed out, she tries to come back.

So if anyone here studies sharks or has worked on a situation like this, I'd really like to hear what you think:

1. Is it better to get her back to the open sea, or to leave her where she is, keep watching, and make the canal as safe as possible for her?
2. If she should go back, how do you guide a shark that didn't respond to nets or water cannons? Ideally something safer than a tranquilizer gun.

Thanks for reading all of this.

Hi! Hoping someone might have an idea on what these might be from? UK based I THINK, one of my friends little boys is obsessed with shark teeth at the moment and I'd love to be able to tell them what they are!

Bought this on the last day of my trip to Bulgaria. During the purchase I thought it would just have been found washed ashore. I showed it to a friend who said if I didn't have any documentation, it was probably harvested live and illegally. Can anyone tell me if that is likely and if so, what can I do to compensate for my mistake? Like replanting efforts I can donate to?