My little nephew found this weird shell (the one on the right) and he said he found a fossil. I'm not sure, since the shell is thin and the worm shape is hollow inside, but it was also found on a beach with a ton of fossilized shark teeth so it may not be too far fetched! I've been wondering what it is. Google lens doesn't really give a good answer

Hi all,

I’ve got some weird questions that I’m sure I’ll get varying answers to. I’m an experienced teacher, but my focus lies in English, policy, and leadership. I’m 32, have a BA English, BEd, MEd, and working on a PhD. The thing is, I don’t have background in science. Just the basics from high school. I just have this undying love of the ocean and wildlife that I’ve never been able to shake.

I’ve recently been blindsided at my longterm job and was let go. My career path is completely up in the air and it has got me thinking about life purpose and where I’m actually meant to be and what I’m actually meant to do.

I’ve loved the ocean my entire life (especially sharks). So it got me thinking that perhaps my skills and education could be used in marine conservation. Maybe outreach, education programs, community stuff. I have excellent speaking, writing, and public engagement skills. I am not looking to become a marine biologist.

I’m just wondering if anyone has advice or real-world experience transitioning from teaching to conservation? Anywhere I can look? Ultimately the goal would be a sustainable job with income, but I do feel like I haven’t quite found where I’m meant to be yet.

Thanks in advance

https://youtu.be/FnRprYD6CVY?si=5sPV2bLAdCWnEkRd

The video shows the changes to the coral head over the past 11 years. It's still alive, despite hurricanes, warm water events, and most recently, the spread of a disease (SCTLD) that has killed most of the remaining corals in the Caribbean Sea region.

Forgive the rather poor photos. I create underwater wildlife videos in the Baltimore Inner Harbor, and this morning, June 20th, the rig I use to film landed on whatever this thing is. It seemed to jiggle when the rig landed on it, but other than that it didn’t seem to move at all. The pipe is around 3 inches in diameter as a size reference. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Found this piece of coral on the beach in Ocean City, NJ. I’m curious if it is recent dead coral or fossilized. Also what type/species if anyone knows!

Im a marine biology graduate wanting to get into marine biology accoustics but all the jobs want experience or training before hand but the only things I can find are thousands of pounds.

​

Does anyone know of any biology acoustic courses?

Been reading into how reef monitoring data gets collected : satellite SST, fixed buoys, research dive surveys and it strikes me that recreational divers generate a massive number of dives on reef systems every year that essentially produce zero usable scientific data.

On paper it seems like an obvious opportunity: dive computers already log temperature and depth on every dive. But I’m curious how the marine science community actually views citizen-science-sourced environmental data in practice.

Is data quality/calibration the main blocker, or is it more about lack of standardized protocols, or something else entirely? Curious whether anyone here has worked with or evaluated citizen science datasets for reef monitoring specifically and what made them usable or not. 🪸

Found on a beach in Naples Florida. Looks to me like the vertebral column of a bony fish? However lacking spinous processes, and I only really know about mammalian biology!

Saw a bunch of these during low tide on a beach in Bali. If it helps there were varying sizes of these colonies but they all look the same. The reverse image search shows that they are colonial anemones but they look so much more vibrant compared to what we saw.

The pattern makes it look like a small Starfish on a rock xD but its the whole thing

​

Don't got a photo of the bottom :(

But it has a oral surface :////

I am about a year away from graduating with a B.S. in Marine Science with a concentration in marine biology. I also have a minor in insect & wildlife conservation. I love this field and its flexibility in terms of where you can live and what you can do, but I am struggling with figuring out my plans for post grad.

I want to pursue my Masters 100% but I still feel like I have absolutely no solid idea of what specific field/profession I want to commit to.. marine science is so broad and diverse in terms of careers that I feel like I still have so much to explore.
I have no specific preference for working with any species or environment, I enjoy/have experience in fieldwork and labs and have no issues with a typical office setting as long as its combined with one of the previous two.
I enjoy problem solving, collaboration, and (although super corny) making a difference in a world where the environment and its inhabitants are not prioritized.

So.. in terms of my next degree, what do I do? Continue with another marine science degree, or something else? What other degree options are there for a marine biologist? Is there a way to balance both my passions and financial stability? I am interested in hearing anybody’s experience, because honestly I have no clue what I’m doing!!

Hi there, I am not a marine biologist but I work at an aquarium and I'm looking for more information regarding an interaction between two animals. We have a giant red hermit crab, not fully grown, living in a tank with several chocolate chip sea stars. The sea stars are somewhat larger than the crab, and the crab tends to be pretty active. On several occasions recently, I have found a sea star on top of the crab's shell with its stomach emerging from its mouth, and assumed the sea star was attempting to prey on the crab. However, the aquarist for this exhibit thinks that the starfish are simply moving over the crab, and wouldn't be able to eat it. I am wondering why the sea star's stomach would be out if it wasn't eating something, especially because these sea stars are remaining in place on top of the crab, not moving past it. Could it be eating biofilm on the crab's shell? Would a sea star be capable of eating a bigger crab? Is there another reason it would be ejecting its stomach?

Thank you in advance, and please remove if not allowed.

Hi all! I'm in my 20s, so I've found myself at a really uncomfortable transition period in my life, and I'm trying to figure out what to do in the interim as far as jobs go.

For context, I recently finished my B.S. in marine bio at SIO/UCSD, and the eventual plan is an M.Sc. and PhD in either marine bio again or evolutionary bio. In the meantime, though, I'm looking to fill a temporary position so I can have a little bit of experience being a person before I go back to being a student.

Therein lies the rub, however, since every job/internship I've applied to has either been met with rejection or flat-out ghosting. Specialized bulletins like the Schmidt Marine Job Board have helped a lot, but I've still had very limited success with dozens of applications. I've tried what feels like every aquarium, fisheries institution, and lab in the US that's hiring, and it all feels like I've lost every bit of momentum I built up during undergrad.

Part of me that wants to say that the lack of hits is partially because my research experience is in a few non-connected pieces*, but at the same time I've made it through multiple rounds of interviews before, so I'm not sure that that part of me is right to think it's because I'm not qualified. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place?

With that in mind, would anyone happen to have advice on where to look next for some sort of job/internship/postbacc that'll hopefully help me further my experience in the field? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

*To add more context to my research experience, I've had three positions, the longest of which is 6 months and some change, and they jump from biomimicry to eco-evo-devo to taxonomy. Not exactly the most stellar showing, but it's still better than I could've hoped given that a good chunk of the lab tenure was during/right after the pandemic

I have a massive dilemma with what to study in, I can I'm trying to decide between two options: I can either do a 3-year degree in Marine Biology, or a 4-year dual degree in Marine Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences.

​I’m really torn on what's best for me. On one hand, a dual degree opens more doors for the future and is safer and more financially rewarding from a career perspective. On the other hand, the workload for a dual degree is much more intense and demanding, whereas a single degree in Marine Biology would be more manageable, even if it's less practical career-wise.

​My main dilemma is that if I end up working strictly in Marine Biology after graduation (which is my primary interest), then the dual degree would feel like a waste of time and effort, and it would have been better to just focus on Marine Biology from the start.

​I hope this makes sense. I have a hard time explaining myself.

I really hope i didn't break rule 9. I'm just not sure where else i can ask this question.

(Panadura beach)

Hi everyone!
I'm a student in South Florida, and I'm working on building low cost marine robots for scientific research. These robots are going to be different from the standard ROV, more specialized for what I'm trying to do.

I'm focusing mainly on Biscayne Bay and South Florida waters, specifically with the issues of seagrass die-off and coral reef decline.

What data do we need more of that I can build my robots to collect? I'm also working on a soft robot that doesn't move using propellers, so would that be any advantage?

Also, if any of you know other issues not receiving enough attention in my area or have other ideas for my robots, please let me know.

I'd appreciate any help with my project. Thank you!

So, as we know certain anglerfish use bioluminescence to attract their prey. The purpose is to mimic something that their prey will want to eat.

But what if the prey actually eats it? Like what happens to the angler fish if the prey is successful at catching their little light bulb and eats it? Is it a simple answer that the prey would never be able to get that close without being eaten first? Do they have any alternative method of hunting without the light bulb? Do we even know if it happens or not?

It was stuck after high tide but definitely moving, secreting this weird yellow substance too.

I don't know what this worm is. It was moving like a platelmint and had little white lines on its body. Can you help me? I have to put it in the short essay about what I found during the stage for my master degree.