MBARI technology helps reveal rhythms of microbial activity in open ocean eddies
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Published: 6 May 2026
Autonomous robots equipped with genetic sampling tools revealed daily rhythms of microbial activity in open ocean eddies near Hawaii, showing how microbes respond to changing conditions. Published in Nature Communications.
Keywords: microbial activity, ocean eddies, autonomous underwater vehicles, gene expression, phytoplankton, biogeochemistry, environmental sampling
Kelp forests connected to sandy beach food webs
University of California, Santa Barbara
Published: 4 May 2026
A survey of 24 California beaches revealed kelp forest health directly shapes sandy beach food webs, with wrack inputs impacting invertebrates and shorebirds across multiple trophic levels.
Keywords: kelp forests, beach ecosystems, food webs, marine ecology, coastal connectivity, wrack, California coast
Ocean bacteria team up to break down biodegradable plastic
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Published: 16 March 2026
MIT researchers showed how individual ocean bacteria cooperate to break down biodegradable plastic, with one microbe cleaving the polymer and others consuming each chemical component.
Keywords: biodegradable plastic, ocean bacteria, microbial degradation, marine pollution, bioplastics, plastic decomposition, marine microbes
