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All animals of the sea depend on plankton, the tiny organisms that drift in the ocean.

Throughout the world's oceans, tiny particles swirl, drift, and fall like snowflakes from the ocean's upper levels.

Biodiversity is the rich variety of life on Earth. But why is it important?

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Find out what lives in the deep sea, coral reef, and continental shelf.

All living organisms need energy to live. Organisms such as plants get this energy from the Sun. But animals get this...

How is the ocean like a layer cake? What creatures live there? And how important is the ocean? Take a dive and find out!

Get some mud and a few other ingredients to build an entire ecosystem for bacteria.

Estuaries are places where a river meets the sea. This ever-changing ecosystem is bursting with life. Saltwater from...

Take a world-wide tour of biodiversity with three scientists.

Many animals and plants use color to warn predators to stay away, and the blue ringed octopus is no exception. When t...

Most living things need oxygen to survive. Oxygen helps organisms grow, reproduce, and turn food into energy. Humans...

The rare Taiwan beech tree grows only in a few forests of northern Taiwan. These are also the only places you'll find...

Your body is more than just you - it is an ecosystem for trillions of tiny microbes. These bacteria, viruses, and oth...

Since he was a boy, Vladimir Ovtsharenko has been fascinated by nature. Growing up, he loved collecting spiders, beet...

Some people may call invertebrates spineless because they lack a backbone or spine! But these amazing creatures are t...

The world's largest flower grows in the rainforests of Southeast Asia. But its enormous, bright red bloom does not fi...

Make a 3D diorama! All you need are pasta, Play-Doh, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, and hair curlers.

Dinoflagellates are tiny, one-celled organisms that live in oceans and freshwater ponds, rivers, and streams. Some di...

Conservation biologist Ana Luz Porzecanski answers kids' questions.
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Most ocean plants and animals live near the shore, on a narrow ribbon of seafloor called the continental shelf.

Found along tropical coastlines, thick mangrove forests were once considered a nuisance, infested with mosquitoes and...

The seafloor covers more than half of the Earth's surface. Most of the seafloor consists of the flat, expansive abyss...

The deep sea is not an easy place to explore. To observe the ocean below 2,000 meters (or 6,562 feet), scientists mus...

Like many kids interested in science, Ro Kinzler thought she wanted to be a marine biologist. But later on, she reali...

As a kid, John Flynn had a rock collection and made lots of trips with his family and school to the American Museum o...

The dazzling Magellan's Iridescent Birdwing is found only on Orchid Island, about 60 kilometers off the southeast coa...

Why is Ana fascinated by the rich variety of life on Earth? Find out!
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Make your own bird feeder and record your observations in a bird journal.

Water is a precious resource, and all things need water to survive.

More than four thousand islands—including one big island—make up this nation in the Caribbean Sea.

When she was a kid, Ana explored the landscapes of rural Uruguay and Brazil and the many plants and animals that live...

An invasive species is a living thing that moves into a new region. Species often become "invasive" as a re...

About 120 kilometers (75 miles) off the coast of China is the island of Taiwan. Although this country is small, it is...

You could travel the globe, but there's only one place you'd find a ruffed lemur: Madagascar. It is an endemic specie...

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What adaptations help these creatures survive?

Find out what you can do to protect the oceans and ocean life.

The Portuguese man-of-war is actually a floating colony of individuals called polyps that are all dependent on each o...

Museum scientists answer kids' questions!

Did you know that biodiversity provides us with things that we need?

Kids took the OLogy Challenge and shared their work with us!

Have you ever seen pond scum -- that thick, smelly layer of slime floating on the surface of the water? That's probab...

Think of giant kelp as the Godzilla of the seaweeds.

You might think that all mosquitoes are alike, but did you know that there are actually about 2,500 different kinds?...

What do we have in common with sharks, bluebirds, lizards, and toads? We are all vertebrates, or animals with backbon...

The snowy egret is a beautiful sight. An adult egret is distinguished by its dark slender beak, long black legs, and...

Watch these videos to explore Felicity's work as a conservation biologist.

A marine biologist answers kids' questions about how climate change affects life in the ocean.

Ross MacPhee has always loved dirt. To him it means the opportunity to find lost things — from bones and teeth to pirate treasure.

Explore how Eleanor is protecting the world's animals and plants.