Zooplankton are tiny crustaceans that occupy a variety of roles in Great Lakes food webs, from open water filter feeding to benthic decomposers 🩵
bro, we wake up to come hang with you. we come over to hang out with you. we are here for you. bro.
Rolling into the weekend like…
Rattail fish are very curious and will investigate any disturbance on or around the seafloor. Those enormous eyes give the rattail an edge. They can glimpse even the faintest flickers of bioluminescence—the “living light” produced by deep-sea animals. Keen eyesight reveals prey, like fishes and squid, darting in the waters above the seafloor.
A rattail relies on other senses, like smell and touch, to find a meal too. These fish have a nose for rotting carrion, and sensitive barbels on their chin detect small crustaceans or worms wiggling in the mud below. They can also communicate with a swim bladder that makes a drumming sound. Learn more about the remarkable rattail: https://www.mbari.org/animal/rattail-fish/.
Hold onto your shorts, deep-sea squad! It’s everyone’s favorite time of the year—the MBARI best of 2022 is live!
From shark fly-bys and googly-eyed squid to toothy-grinned fishes and corals the size of trees, MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles encountered many spellbinding scenes in the deep this year. These mesmerizing moments bring the diversity of life in the deep sea through our screens into our hearts. As we continue to explore the largest—and least known habitat—on our planet, we promise to share our discoveries with you. Head over to our YouTube channel to see the full video.
POV: When you’re in the middle of the anchovy school. 😲
When most people think about marine life in Monterey Bay, they think of large animals such as whales, sea lions, and pelicans. But none of these charismatic creatures would be here if not for millions of smaller animals, such as anchovies and krill.
Over the last decade, MBARI Senior Scientist Kelly Benoit-Bird has been studying these small, but important animals, using advanced echosounders mounted on boats and underwater robots. Kelly and her team investigate how animals respond to constantly changing environments, including how animals find dinner without becoming dinner themselves and the way group behaviors like schooling or cooperation affect predator-prey interactions. Learn more on MBARI’s newly updated website: https://www.mbari.org/team/acoustical-ocean-ecology/.
Alright now I wanna talk about the oarfish and their incredibly Shaped relatives
The oarfish is a classic lad, we all know of the world’s longest normal girl:
But also!! Ribbonfish!
Tapertails!
Crestfish!
King-of-salmons!
Opahs????
I actually did not know the opah was related to the oarfish but I guess that’s perfectly on-brand for the only fully warm-blooded fish on the planet.
Out of all the fish that go from female to male throughout life, think we should adopt the California Sheephead as a transmasc symbol because they're extremely cool looking and also kinda intimidating