To fight invasive species, some people have harvested them to produce useful materials that can be sold for a profit.

As of 2026, the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is the world's largest macroalgal bloom, with seaweed stretching from the Caribbean to West Africa.

While invasive species typically harm ecosystems by outcompeting native organisms for resources, some provide unexpected benefits, including new shelters, nesting habitats, and reduced environmental heat stress.

Fungi have been used to restore island habitats in the central Pacific

Mangrove forests can store up to four times as much carbon as other forests and protect inland areas through complex root systems that absorb wave energy and hold mud and soil in place, contributing to their status as keystone species.

Invasivorism is a form of ethical eating focused on eating invasive species

US labs drain an estimated 500,000 horseshoe crabs of blood each year to harvest a compound that screens vaccines and medical devices for bacterial toxins.

The economics of horseshoe crab blood

View some of the most invasive species in US waters

Over 1 million fish, marine mammals, and invertebrate species depend on coral reefs for habitats, camouflage, and food.

Decommissioned oil rigs have been repurposed into artificial reefs that serve as nursery habitats for fish, corals, sponges, and other invertebrates in the decades since their installation.

Synthetic pheromones may protect coral reefs by attracting their sea star predators to a designated area for mass removal.

Scientists have collected critical minerals from ocean water using seaweed, a type of algae that leaves behind a mineral-rich powder called bio-ore after being processed into biofuels.

Some invasive species can provide benefits to ecosystems over time

Plastic debris across the ocean aids the spread of invasive species

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that US commercial and recreational fisheries valued at $200M depend on coral reefs, which provide up to $1.8B in flood protection by absorbing 97% of wave energy.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

How the methods of catching fish for food affects their taste

The Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades and the spotted lanternfly—native to Asia and now found throughout the US—are among the invasive species accidentally introduced and spread by humans.

At its 1850s peak, the American whaling fleet numbered more than 600 ships, an industry later replaced entirely by petroleum and coal gas.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

Invasive species can harm infrastructure and threaten human health

Weird ways critical minerals are being mined

Whale falls—dead whales that have fallen to the ocean's floor—can provide enough food to spawn a local ecosystem of deep-sea organisms that lasts for decades.

Climate resilience strategies, which help communities mitigate the effects of climate change, include painting roofs white, building clam gardens, harvesting fog, and feeding cows seaweed.

Bluefin tuna, now used in high-end sushi, was once reserved for cat food

The giant African harvester ant is rising in popularity as a pet and fueling illegal global trade, with creatures sometimes costing as much as $220.

How the Montreal Protocol made CFCs the most valuable Miami contraband after cocaine

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Shrunken human heads were once a valuable commodity.

Through coral IVF, researchers have collected coral eggs and sperm from healthy reefs, grown baby corals in lab pools, and then released them to help repopulate damaged or lost reefs.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Humans have used bioluminescence as a means of military advantage

View a collection of glass sculptures of corals threatened by fishing and deep-sea mining.

As immobile animals, corals and the organisms that live on them have evolved a suite of chemical compounds to prevent disease and ward off predators they cannot outrun.

Satellite imagery of the massive seaweed blob in the Atlantic

Molecules derived from algae can be found in foods such as ice cream, salad dressings, brownie mix, and gravies, as well as in products such as toothpaste, multivitamins, and egg substitutes.

How five of the world's most expensive salt and spices are made

Some algae have helped remove microplastics from water after being bioengineered to clump together with these contaminants, forming an easily collectible microplastic-algae sludge.

In 2024, a survey of Japanese beaches uncovered plasticorals—a material in which melted plastic entered the pores of and mechanically fused to coral skeletons.

Salt is harvested from briny ocean water and underground deposits

View the steps you can take to stop invasive species

Inside Australia's National Sea Simulator, scientists are cross-breeding coral species and using CRISPR to genetically engineer heat-resistant corals to withstand warming reefs worldwide.

When diving and snorkeling in environments containing reefs, avoid touching reefs, anchoring on them, or using sunscreen with active ingredients harmful to marine life.

Japanese scientists have developed an eco-friendly plastic that naturally dissolves in hours, leaving behind molecules containing phosphorus and nitrogen, which fertilize soil.

Explaining deep-sea mining, including its economic benefits and potential biomedical risks

The Chumash manufactured shell beads for thousands of years, eventually as money

Florida: the invasive pythons capital of the world

Prosthetics and orthotics have been 3D printed to improve the lives of animals

At Disney World, glass bottles and jars are pulverized into the smooth gravel and sand used in greenhouses that grow the flowers for the parks and resorts.

One NHL team tosses salmon to its fans