Sea cucumber being prepared for salad. Just kidding! The knife is for scale.

Beds of Conch move en masse when food gets scarce.

Humpback whales cruising beneath a diver. Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback whale calves are born in wintering waters of the tropics and subtropics . This humpback whale mother and calf will remain virtually inseparable. The calf weans at around ten or eleven months.

Humpback whales are gentle and feed primarily on krill, small shrimp. Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback whales can leap clear out of the water. Megaptera novaeangliae

The notch in a humpback whale's tail is distinctive. Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback whales often flap their tails or fins on the water surface. Megaptera novaeangliae

Markings on a humpback whale's tail help indentify individuals. Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback whales migrate from near the poles to tropical waters. Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback whales are mammals that must surface to breathe. Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback whales are gentle and feed primarily on krill, small shrimp. Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback whales migrate from near the poles to tropical waters. Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback whale is attracted to an ROV, or undersea robot. Megaptera novaeangliae

California sea lions bask in the sun,

Mother and juvenile bottlenose dolphins head to the seafloor. Tursiops truncatus

Sea lion rises to bark at a research vessel.

Catalina Island off southern CA, former home of a NURP center.

Close up of worm tubes, sometimes the most prominent structures on sandy bottom.

Small dead crab in hypoxic (no oxygen) sediments off Louisiana.

Bacterial mats are common the seafloor where oxygen is low. Beggiatoa sp.

Mangroves of South Florida are threatened coastal development.

Mangroves roots serve as critical habitat for many species and nutrient filters.

Gravel-cobble bottom off Maine coast is favored scallop ground.

Penguins explore snow-dunes in Antarctica

Corals throughout the Caribbean are bleaching (casting out their algae).

Sponges are as important as corals for reef structure.

Reef fish use the reef for cover and food.

Corals on the reef vary from large stony heads to whispy branches.

Tiny coral animals build massive reef structures.

Staghorn corals have declined at Caribbean reefs in the past 20 years.

Brain corals get their name from the folds and turns in the coral skeleton.

The diversity of fish and other reef organisms rival tropical rainforests.

Bioerosion of coral reefs makes them brittle and susceptible to collapse.

Like corals, glass sponges are also partly composed of calcareous material.

Staghorn corals form the forests of the reef.

The lights of the camera bring out the brilliant colors of the reef.

Sponges, corals and many other attached species compete for space on the reef.

This temperate reef off North Carolina has hard corals and tropical fish.

Scientists study reefs for many reasons, economic and ecologic.

Elkhorn, Acropora palmata, coral towers above reef creating habitat and beach protection.

Demosponges and coralline algae on a permanent photo plot.

Diversity on cold rocky reefs can also be very high.

Starfish and anemones in a cold water rocky community.

Macroalgae are important habitat on temperate and northern reefs. Macrocystis

Kelp beds are extremely complex and critical marine habitats. Wise management of both kelp beds and the animals that depend on them is key to the future of our marine ecosystem.

Flowers are actually worms with tubes among the reef growth.

Macroalgae come in many shapes and sizes, from microscopic to tens of meters.

Brown algae on a temperate Carolina reef can survive a wide temperature range. Lobophora

Diverse "live bottom" community on a Carolina reef.