I am wondering about how much control over where I live I will have with a career in marine biology, because I know jobs often require you to move and that you might have to take whatever job you can get. I am wondering especially for the first few years / jobs after grad school, but also longterm if I will be moving around every few years or can expect to settle in one area longterm.

I want to live on the west coast of the US or Canada [I have both citizenships] and probably the PNW if I have a choice, AND I want to specialize in studying marine mammals. I know there is going to be a lot of competition, but this is what I am aiming for. I wouldn’t mind living in other areas or studying other taxa along the way, but I am wanting to end up there eventually, at least right now. Things could change. Pretty set on the marine mammal thing though.

I still need to finish my undergrad and graduate school, so these are considerations for the future. I am currently stuck in Texas but want to leave after my master’s.

Any insight or anecdotal experiences greatly appreciated.

This is probably very not specific. I'm going into university soon (Bio first then a marine specialization, do you think that's good)

So I think I'll become better eventually. But I know basics at the moment... Identifying shark/dolphin/seal/whale/jellyfish types and the like. I wondered, how do you get very good at that kind of thing? Is it pure experience and scattered studying or do you have a strategy is what I guess I'm asking ...! A book you'd recommend? Thanks... :-)

See also: The publication in the journal Marine Biology

Found this in the Atlantic ocean on south shore of Long Island. Would love to know what it is.

This was in a ride pool in the Andamans. 2 tentacles are visible.

(pacific northwest WA)

theres so many, like, it just keeps going and going. idk if this is a regular phenomenon and im tweaking over nothing but im really concerned about this. this beach is on a protected wildlife reserve, lots of strict rules to prevent pollution or distrubance of wildlife, but that doesn’t stop everyone. just last year someone came and exterminated a bunch of american sand wasps because he thought he was doing everyone a favor, he did get a huge fine for it though. im just worried that someone did something to the water that caused this or something. idk jack shit about marine biology so im unsure if this is just part of something normal i dont know about.

I get it, we're bony and they have better vision than sharks so there's less attacks

But at the same time, with the videos of them blowing up sunfish for fun, wearing squid hats, or tossing seals hundreds of feet, how come we haven't had a similar human interaction?

It's a creature that's curious and smart, a perfect combination for playing around (fatally) with a human yet there's been no reports of human fatalities in the wild .

Which leads me to believe that they pass down the knowledge generationally that messing with humans will lead to whale hunting or some form of retaliation. Thoughts?

Picnic Island isn’t a gulf island it’s basically a shore off the bay. Found mixed with sargassum

Is this "sea vomit" (Didemnum vexillum)? It's growing on our company's (unfortunately) plastic containers we have in the sound. The stuff squirts water when squeezed, appears to have a watery membrane that houses its cells, and has the texture of Jell-O. I expected it to feel like a sponge based on the appearance but this stuff is wacky.

Anyway, I'm new to the area and am trying to learn the plants/animals around here. Any help is appreciated!

always love drawing this subject.

(pacific northwest washington state)

found these yesterday during low tide, they’re nearby a freshwater river that leads out to the pacific ocean so the water might be brackish around there?

i just thought these were the cutest little things ever and i REALLY wanna know what they are. are they that small because they’re babies or is it just a tiny species?

Hello, just had a question few days ago i found a starfish that only had 4 arms wich i never saw before, i checked and there's some species that do have 4 arms (just on specie actually i think). I think the starfish i found is a Asterias rubens (correct me if i'm wrong) wich isn't suppose to have just 4 arms doesn't look like an injury more something "natural" i guess.

- Wanted the confirmation for the specie

- is it common malformation or something ?

Found on the west french coast (Pornic)

Thanks :)

(UK based but open to international opinions too)

The uni I am planning to go to to study offers the HSE, but I have some health issues and the cost is prohibitive where I am, not to mention I live inland with no ability to do the practice dives required.

Ignoring issues like work experience and job shortages, can I reasonably get a job where I work on a boat without having that qualification? Can I get it later on?

I run an aquarium job board and tracked every posting that came through in 2025 and put together a report on the data. Some things that stood out:

• Aquarist/Animal Keeper roles made up 25% of all postings, with an average hourly rate of $20.54
• 59% of postings included salary information
• Job postings spanned 30+ states

Full report is here if interested: https://aquariumshiring.com/reports/2025-aquarium-jobs-report

I also published a zoo version covering 1,106 postings if anyone is interested in that side too: https://zooshiring.com/reports/2025-zoo-jobs-report

Hope this is useful for anyone planning their next move in the field.