Pic o’ the Week: Rockfish in Coccolithophore Bloom

Image © Andrew McCurdy It looks like a watercolor painting but it's a real underwater pic! Here's how the photographer describes getting the shot:  " I spent a while in the shallows with these shy but curious Black Rockfish. I had to sit on the bottom and hold my breath for them to come closer …

Pic o’ the Week: Lions Mane Nudie

Lions mane nudibranch {Melibe leonina} © Bruce Sudweeks "Don’t get this guy confused with Lion's Mane mushroom, as these nudibranchs are probably far less tasty." "The lion's mane nudibranch (Melibe leonina), has an anatomy that is unique from other nudibranchs. Instead of a rasping tongue, it has an expandable oral hood that resembles a lion's …

Pic o’ the Week: Nature’s Light in Dark Times

Aurora jellies in fjord outside Tromsø, northern Norway. Photo © Audun Rikardsen “Surrounded by darkness yet enfolded in light” ~ Alan Brennert It seems dark in so many ways ... quite literally in the northern hemisphere in the depths of winter, and figuratively around the globe as war and violence rage in Ukraine, Gaza and …

Pic o’ the Week: Ocean Beauty on the Beach

In these tumultuous times take time every day to notice beauty in our natural world. Image via Beach4Art Here, a holiday wreath made with elements from the ocean Pray and work for peace everywhere on our remarkable ocean planet

Pic o’ the Week: Microscopic Monster in the Sea

Life among the ghouls and goblins of Halloween season may be harrowing but it’s no better in the watery world of our ocean’s microscopic plankton. Consider the Phronima sedentaria

Pic o’ the Week: Whip Coral Shrimp

Whip coral shrimp, Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia. Photo © David Curry Grand prize winner Through Your Lens category, Scuba Diving Magazine Photo Contest 2023 At first glance it looks like a wreath of exquisite orange and yellow spring flowers. But look closer -- notice the long light green fronds in the bottom right? That's a tiny …

Pic o’ the Week: “like a galaxy crashed with the ocean”

“This is the most amazing discovery in my lifetime! It feels like I’ve discovered a rare treasure,” Andreea Baker exclaimed about seeing these seastars in a mussel shell. Baker happened upon this wondrous ocean sight while walking along the Oregon coast near Cannon Beach. We were visiting Indian Beach Oregon on my 37th birthday. We …

Pic o’ the Week: Cardigan Bay’s Dolphin Surprise

Pwllheli Harbour, Cardigan Bay, Wales. Photo © Rhys Jones Welsh photographer Rhys Jones has been snapping pictures with his drone around the Welsh shores of Cardigan Bay for two years. Recently his drone caught this view of the Pwllheli harbor and Jones was surprised: "Once seen it it cannot be unseen ... In all my …

Pic o’ the Week: Sea Angels Among Us

Clione limacina, photo ©Alexander Semenov With their winged appearance and translucent bodies, it's easy to see why these pelagic gastropods, Clione limacina, are commonly called sea angels. They're actually related to sea slugs and sea snails, and they live in ocean surface waters down into deep waters. Despite their angelic good looks, they're fierce predators …

Pic o’ the Week: Jellyfish ‘Satellite of Life’ in a Zooplankton Bloom

A juvenile fish and a jellyfish amid a zooplankton bloom, off the Shetland Islands, Atlantic Ocean. Photo © Henley Spiers, courtesy Hakai Magazine A jelly swims amid a zooplankton bloom, its tentacles providing shelter for juvenile fish. As photographer Henley Spiers said, "The bloom also attracted these fish that I observed using a jellyfish as …