Sea otters act as keystone predators by eating up to 15 pounds of seafood a day, including urchins, which feed on kelp forests that support over 800 species by providing them with habitats and food.

The concept of keystone species—organisms that have disproportionately large impacts on their ecosystems—was discovered through studies of purple starfish in Pacific tidepools.

The world's largest species of marine algae is giant kelp, which can grow as much as two feet per day from depths of about 100 feet up to the ocean surface.

Although ecologists have struggled to identify a species as a keystone—one of outsized importance to its ecosystem—an analysis of 50 years of data and 157 studies identified 230 such species.

By targeting a diverse range of sick and injured marine life, sharks—a type of predatory keystone species—help keep ocean gene pools healthy and promote biodiversity by keeping prey species in check.

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

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.

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.

The deep-sea fangtooth has the largest teeth of any marine species relative to body size

From transparent fish to the heaviest worms on the planet, these seven creepy creatures lurk in the deep sea. Learn all about them and the unique traits that help them survive and hunt.

Able to hold their breath for up to 15 minutes, beavers are considered keystone species via their construction of dams and formation of wetlands, which serve as homes and food sources for fish, birds, insects, and other animals.

As environmental engineers—a main type of keystone species—prairie dogs support over 150 other species through their grazing habits and burrowing of underground tunnels, which serve as habitats for owls, snakes, ferrets, insects, and other organisms.

In Yellowstone National Park, grey wolves act as keystone predators by controlling elk and deer populations, which had previously overgrazed and disrupted river systems that supported many more mammal, fish, and avian species.

The Southern Ocean's powerful circular current isolates organisms in its environment

The spiralling current churns up nutrients across the frigid waters, leading to the evolution of fantastical organisms, including century-old starfish and colossal squid, and unique adaptations, including the icefish's clear blood and organic antifreeze, over the past 30 million years.

Some invasive species can provide benefits to ecosystems over time

In the 1990s, round gobies were introduced into the Great Lakes, rapidly spreading and competing with local sculpin and logperch. However, Lake Erie watersnakes, which were on the endangered species list, shifted their diet to be almost entirely made up of the plentiful round gobies, contributing to their loss of endangered status in 2011.

What animals live in the ocean?

The oceans host an incredible diversity of fascinating species. Oceana's Marine Life Encyclopedia beautifully presents facts and photos of ocean animals from Atlantic Cod to Zebra Sharks.

Despite being multicellular and photosynthetic, organisms such as kelp and sea moss are macroalgae, not plants, because they lack specialized roots and stems to pump water.

Track individual sharks around the world in real time

OCEARCH provides essential data on shark populations and marine ecosystems to support broader conservation efforts. Foster your understanding of marine ecosystems by exploring different species and their movement.

In recent years, orcas have begun sinking boats and other orcas are following in their footsteps

For just over five years, killer whales have been ramming (and occasionally sinking) expensive yachts, sailboats, and fishing boats in waters near European coasts. Scientists believe these incidents are the result of play rather than aggressive attacks.

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

A look at how fish less than two inches long climb up 50-foot waterfalls

Shellears use tiny hooks on their front pectoral fins to grip rock like Velcro and take many pauses to recover energy between bursts of movement. Their pectoral girdle—an arch of bone—supports the muscle system needed for the roughly ten-hour climb.

Alaska's Bristol Bay hosts the world's largest self-sustaining wild salmon runs

Nearly 50 million of the fish return to the area each year to spawn, sometimes in the same spot they were born. A journalist tracked the supply chain journey of one sockeye salmon from the sea to the customer's plate.

Plastic debris across the ocean aids the spread of invasive species

The durable, long-lasting material can serve as a platform for living organisms to latch onto and ride over vast distances. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a large dock carrying 100 tons of living organisms native to Japan washed up on Oregon's coastline, confirming the ecological threat.

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.

The jaguar is the largest feline in the Americas and serves as a keystone species by acting as an apex predator with a diverse diet across multiple environments, thereby regulating the populations of dozens of species.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as of 2025, there are over 18,000 endangered animal species worldwide, with the share of fish, insects, mollusks, and reptiles increasing since 2007.

Contributing to one in every three bites of food consumed by humans, bees are a keystone species because of their essential role as pollinators of about 80% of all flowering plants worldwide.

Across the animal kingdom, parenting can include adults carrying their young, providing their bodies for sustenance, searching for food and shelter for their children, and separating siblings who may eat one another.

During a tropic cascade, the disappearance of a keystone species, which plays an indispensable role in ecosystems, triggers a domino effect within food webs that disrupts the populations of many more species.

What revisiting a 1979 experiment reveals about ecosystem recovery after deep-sea mining

A 2023 study co-led by the National Oceanography Centre and the Natural History Museum, London, found that tracks made by the mining vehicle remained largely unchanged since 1979. Small animals, such as amoeba-like xenophyophore, were seen in the cleared areas, but sightings of larger animals known to live in the region were much rarer. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Deep water corals—located throughout the world's ocean basins at depths beyond 200 meters (660 feet)—slowly build small coral gardens in the dark with the help of underwater worms.

Feeding grazing cattle seaweed cut their methane emissions by almost 40%

The largest share of the 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions from livestock comes from methane released when cows burp. A study found that introducing a seaweed supplement in pellet form significantly reduced these emissions without affecting cattle's health or weight.

The 10 most amazing deep sea creatures

In this video, researchers from the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium discuss the most fascinating deep sea creatures, and how they developed some of their strangest features.

Take an interactive dive and see the animals that populate the oceans, from fish and coral near the surface to the cusk eel and hadal snailfish on the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

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

After removing 1.5 million invasive coconut palm trees and eradicating the black rats that fed on them, as well as seabirds and crabs, conservationists working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service identified areas where fungi could be transplanted to provide nutrients to native trees. These trees serve as nesting sites for seabirds whose guano nourishes coral reefs.

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.

Listen to recordings of different fish species

Scientists have captured and curated this collection of species-specific recordings, helping us gain a deeper understanding of underwater ecosystems. Uncover their sounds, which include a lot of thumps, burps, and grunts.