Top Results for Pacific Region

Pyropia yezoensis is a marine red alga widely cultivated in East Asia, especially Japan and Korea, for edible dried seaweed. It is associated with nori production in Japan and gim in Korea. Its thin blades grow in coastal waters, including intertidal habitats, and commercial farming uses spores seed...

Saccharina japonica, formerly classified as Laminaria japonica, is a brown kelp cultivated extensively in the northwest Pacific for the edible sea vegetable kombu. It grows in cold coastal waters and is farmed on ropes or nets, then harvested and dried into dark fronds or strips. Kombu is a core ing...

The purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, is a marine echinoderm native to the eastern Pacific, with a range extending from Alaska to Baja California. It lives on rocky shores and in subtidal habitats, including kelp forests, and is recognized by its purple spines. Researchers use it as...

Shallow coastal waters around Hawaii support Euprymna scolopes, a small bobtail squid with a rounded body. It is active mainly at night and commonly buries itself in sand during daylight. Its best-known trait is a partnership with the light-producing bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri, historically calle...

The Heceta Head Light stands on a dramatic Oregon Coast headland, marking a treacherous stretch of Pacific shoreline. Constructed in 1894, this lighthouse’s powerful beam provided vital navigation for mariners over twenty-one nautical miles. It remains an important historical landmark and is frequen...

Mesocentrotus franciscanus, commonly known as the red sea urchin, is a regular echinoderm belonging to the Strongylocentrotidae family. It inhabits kelp forests along the Pacific coast of North America. This species is notable for its size and commercially harvested roe, which is consumed globally....

The crystal jelly, Aequorea victoria, is a transparent hydrozoan medusa found along the Pacific coast of North America. Its bell margin bears light-producing organs, and its bioluminescence involves the protein aequorin interacting with green fluorescent protein, or GFP. Research on proteins isolate...

The Palau Barrier Reef is a significant tropical coral reef system located in Micronesia’s western Pacific Ocean. It forms a protective barrier around a rich lagoon and is recognized globally for its exceptional biodiversity. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the reef supports numerous mar...

Also called the Sea of Cortez, the Gulf of California separates Mexico's Baja California Peninsula from the mainland. This narrow body of water extends for roughly 1,100 kilometers and opens into the Pacific Ocean at its southern end. Islands and deep basins create varied marine settings, while part...

Yamato was the lead ship of an Imperial Japanese Navy battleship class commissioned during the Second World War. Together with its sister ship Musashi, it stood among the largest and most heavily armed battleships constructed. Its 46-centimeter main guns embodied the emphasis on heavy naval artiller...

Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan entered Spanish service to lead an expedition seeking a westward route to the Spice Islands. Departing in 1519, his fleet navigated the South American passage now called the Strait of Magellan and made the first recorded European crossing of the Pacific Ocean....

A Portland-class U.S. Navy heavy cruiser, USS Indianapolis (CA-35) served extensively during World War II. In July 1945 it completed a secret voyage delivering components and enriched uranium for the Little Boy atomic bomb to Tinian. On July 30, the Japanese submarine I-58 torpedoed the cruiser, whi...

Bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, grows along North America's Pacific coast from Alaska to California. This annual brown seaweed has a distinctive form: a long, flexible stalk, called a stipe, rises from its attachment to the seabed and ends in a hollow, gas-filled float. Ribbon-like blades spread f...

Patrick Vinton Kirch is an American anthropologist and archaeologist who studies the origins, migrations, and social organization of Pacific Island societies. His research has focused on Polynesia, including the Hawaiian Islands, and combines archaeological evidence with environmental, linguistic, a...

Thin, translucent blades distinguish Pyropia tenera, an edible red alga in the Bangiaceae family formerly known as Porphyra tenera. Its leaflike body can appear purple, dark red or greenish, despite its classification among red algae. It occurs in shallow intertidal habitats of the northwestern Paci...

Air New Zealand is a leading airline known for its commitment to sustainability and innovative passenger experiences. Operating a modern fleet, they are actively investing in biofuel technologies and carbon offset programs. Their customer-centric approach, combined with their extensive network acros...

Corcovado National Park is a conservation area established in 1975 on the Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica. The park spans approximately 424 square kilometers, encompassing varied ecosystems including lowland tropical rainforest, mangrove swamps, and cloud forests. It serves as a crucial hab...

Marshall Sahlins was an American cultural anthropologist associated with the University of Chicago and later the University of Michigan. In 'Stone Age Economics' (1972), he challenged Western assumptions about scarcity, arguing that foraging societies represented the "original affluent society" due...

Surrounding a volcanic island in French Polynesia's Society Islands, Bora Bora Lagoon combines sheltered tropical water with a mountainous backdrop. Mount Otemanu rises above the main island as a remnant of its volcanic past. An outer reef and small reef islands help define the lagoon, where turquoi...

The Flint Hills Prairie encompasses a significant portion of eastern Kansas and bordering Oklahoma. It’s notable as one of the largest remaining examples of North American tallgrass prairie, characterized by unique limestone-rich soils and abundant native grasses like big bluestem. This region suppo...

White spots on a reddish body and long antennae help identify the spot shrimp, Pandalus platyceros, also commonly called a spot prawn. This large marine shrimp occurs along the northeastern Pacific coast from Alaska to California, with populations also found near Japan and Korea. It inhabits rocky a...

Blue light from numerous photophores, specialized light-producing organs, distinguishes Watasenia scintillans, the firefly squid. This small cephalopod inhabits waters off Japan and spends much of its life below the sunlit surface. Its lights occur across the body, with conspicuous organs near the a...

Lobaria oregana is a large foliose lichen commonly known as Oregon lungwort. It has broad, lobed thalli and is associated with moist, mature conifer forests in western North America, where it can grow on tree trunks and branches, including in forest canopies. The lichen contains cyanobacteria in som...

The Pu'u Loa Petroglyphs are an extensive field of ancient rock carvings located within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. Recognized as the largest petroglyph site in Hawaii, the field consists of over 23,000 individual images carved into hardened basalt lava flows. The engravings pr...

The Pacific cleaner shrimp, Lysmata amboinensis, is a marine shrimp distributed across tropical parts of the Indo-Pacific. It advertises at reef cleaning stations with conspicuous red and white coloration and long white antennae, then removes ectoparasites, dead tissue, and debris from visiting fish...

A broad expanse of turquoise water edged by reef and small islands gives Aitutaki Lagoon its distinctive setting in the Cook Islands. Clear shallows and coral habitats make the lagoon a focus for marine recreation, while the main island provides a settled base for visitors. Aitutaki combines a raise...

Akagi was an Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier converted from an Amagi-class battlecruiser hull after the Washington Naval Treaty altered Japanese construction plans. It served as the flagship of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's carrier striking force during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December...

Dosidicus gigas, commonly known as the Humboldt squid or jumbo flying squid, is a large, predatory marine cephalopod found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is a dominant species in the Humboldt Current, where it supports significant commercial fisheries, particularly off the coasts of Peru, Chile, a...

Large, active schools characterize the Humboldt squid, Dosidicus gigas, a predatory cephalopod of the eastern Pacific. Its range includes waters influenced by the Humboldt Current. Large specimens can exceed two meters in total length, including their limbs. Rapid changes between red and pale colora...