Join us for Mote Day Camps all year long! Each session combines our groundbreaking research with fun, hands-on, and age-appropriate, inquiry-based activities. Campers can discover the wonders of ...

Discover the cutting-edge coral reef science and restoration led by Mote Marine Laboratory scientists at our campuses throughout the Florida Keys. Learn more about public and private tours, ...

Nurse sharks are mostly nocturnal, meaning they sleep during the day and hunt at night. Nurse sharks hang out on the ocean floor, hiding in the sand and preying on any bottom dwelling creatures that ...

These fish can swim up to 689 feet (210 meters) deep. In the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, the blackbar soldierfish lives among coral reef communities. Blackbar soldierfish are ...

Virtual Focus Trips are live, two-way video sessions. Your school or group picks the date and time. We connect your learners with ocean experts at Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida. These sessions are ...

The sea otter is one of the main natural predators that eats sea urchins. Because sea otters are endangered, urchins have increased in numbers and reduced the amount of kelp growing in some places.

These urchins are harvested for their roe, their reproductive material. The roe is called Uni in Japanese and is served in sushi restaurants. Red sea urchins tend to live in rocky areas, often in ...

These minnows will sometimes dig themselves into the sand to escape overly warm or cool water. Sheepshead minnows prefer quiet, shallow water habitats. They can be found in bays, estuaries, creeks, ...

These fish can grow to 16.5 inches (42 centimeters) long. Kelp rockfish inhabit kelp beds and rocky habitats from Timber Cove, California, south to Punta de San Pablo in Baja California, Mexico. Kelp ...

Female mosquitofish are larger than their male counterparts, growing up to 2.4 inches (6.1 centimeters) long. Males usually reach 1.4 inches (3.6 centimeters) in length. These freshwater fish can be ...

Northern sea nettles are quick reproducers and can multiply at a speedy rate if the resources in their environment allow so. These sea jellies can range from pink and orange to white and yellow. Their ...

At night, spot prawns swim to more shallow depths to eat and mate before returning to deeper depths for the day. Females of this species are typically larger in size. They can grow up to 10.5 inches ...