Marine Mammals
Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are in an order known as cetaceans. They are fascinating to many people, possibly because of their size, their playful-seeming activities, or the attention to human threats to these animals. Like humans, these creatures of the sea breathe air, are warmblooded, and bear live young (called calves) which are nursed by their mothers.
Take our Marine Mammals Quiz
Invertebrates
Mollusks are invertebrates with a soft, unsegmented body, mantle, and protective shell, like octopods, scallops, and squid.
What do you know about jellyfish, squid, and crabs?
Sea Turtles
Sea turtles are distributed throughout the world ocean except in polar regions. Sea turtles are one of the few groups of marine reptiles. They live most of their lives in the ocean but adult females must return to beaches for nesting and laying their eggs.
Take our quiz to find out how much (or little) you know about sea turtles
Ocean Processes
Explore the oceans to gain deeper understanding of their chemical, physical, and biological components.
Take our quiz to test your knowledge of ocean processes
Fish & Sharks
As one of the top ocean predators, sharks play an important role in the food web and help ensure balance in the ocean’s ecosystem.
A healthy fish populations is vital to our nation’s economy—important for commercial and recreational use, integral to our coastal communities, and providing healthy sources of protein.
Take our quiz to find out what you know about fish and sharks
The Fishadelphia team. Credit: Dr. Talia Young.
Fishermen lowers sea scallops into the water. Credit: NOAA Fisheries.
Right whale #3853 swimming north offshore of South Carolina on Jan. 20, 2011 with a series of fresh propeller wounds running across its back. The whale was observed 5 days previously offshore of Georgia without propeller wounds. It is unknown whether the whale survived its wounds or not, as it has not been re-sighted since. Vessel collisions are a leading cause of right whale mortality. Credit: EcoHealth Alliance (NOAA permit #594-1759).
North Atlantic right whale Catalog #3560 ‘Snow Cone’ sighted December 2, 2021 entangled and with a new calf. Photo credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission taken under NOAA permit 20556.