Our Mission
Climate change and biodiversity loss pose grand, intertwined challenges to nature and society. In the sea, those changes are largely invisible. MarineGEO is a growing network of partner observatories around the world working to reveal how and why coastal marine life and habitats are changing, globally and locally, to inform evidence-based solutions.

In the COVID era, coral reefs face their own pandemic
The MarineGEO research team revisited the Carrie Bow Cay station in Belize in late 2022 and found that corals were facing their own pandemic, with signs of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) and a decline in coral cover.

New MarineGEO Network Project Alert: BEACON Project
The BEACON project is a new MarineGEO network initiative to explore the relationship between biodiversity and energy availability in coastal marine ecosystems around the world.

PanAmEx reveals that higher ocean temperatures lead to greater predation pressure
Scientists from 36 sites across 110 degrees of latitude ran the same experiment to assess the intensity and impact of predators on local marine invertebrate communities.

A doubling of coral cover on Carrie Bow Cay, Belize from 2014-2019
This study is the first to leverage the long-term photographic data collected by MarineGEO at Carrie Bow Cay to show that coral cover has improved there since the program began in 2014.

Global “BiteMap” Reveals How Marine Food Webs May Change With Climate
Where are small marine animals most vulnerable to getting eaten? The answer has big consequences for coastal ecosystems since predators can radically change underwater communities.

Seagrasses: A global ocean life support system
MarineGEO is coordinating global seagrass research to gain a baseline understanding of seagrasses and the communities they support, both wild and human.
Why do we focus on ecosystems on the edge? Nearshore habitats are where people and marine biodiversity concentrate and interact the most. This makes them ground zero for climate change impacts. #OurSustainablePlanet pic.twitter.com/tOHx9nQjvb
— Smithsonian MarineGEO (@SImarineGEO) April 19, 2023
It is National #OceanMonth and we plan to celebrate all the incredible marine life that calls the ocean home over the next month.
— Smithsonian MarineGEO (@SImarineGEO) June 2, 2023
First up, Permits! They can rotate their 👀360 degrees. They have excellent eyesight making them a challenging and popular target for flyfishing! pic.twitter.com/FJJjksNkC5
This week we will be finishing up our #meettheteam series! @ValeCardona_ is one of our amazing technicians at the Bocas del Toro Station in Panama. Jellyfish are one of her favorite marine creatures! Learn more about Valentina here: https://t.co/mmsI1bZrMo.🪼🪸🤿 pic.twitter.com/y5aKWcHoFw
— Smithsonian MarineGEO (@SImarineGEO) June 6, 2023
#meettheteam Returning as a MarineGEO intern for another summer, @LuisXdePablo loves working with MarineGEO researchers from around the world to tackle global problems. 🦦are his favorite marine critter and he enjoys playing with his band. Learn more here: https://t.co/okKKekxdtJ pic.twitter.com/8juk0NQWxF
— Smithsonian MarineGEO (@SImarineGEO) June 7, 2023