Growing up on his parent’s coffee farm in Brazil, Samuel Faria didn’t spend much time thinking about the ocean. In fact, he wanted to work with teenagers as a high school teacher or college professor. When he was 8, his family moved to a small town in southeastern Brazil, which was his home until he began his undergraduate degree in biological sciences at the University of São Paulo. This is where his passion for science began, and also where he went on to earn his master’s and doctoral degrees in comparative biology.

When most people think about sea anemones they usually think of clownfish as well—the small orange, black, and white fish that make their homes within the sea anemones’ tentacles. Anemones and clownfish have a symbiotic relationship known as “mutualism,” in which each species benefits the other. Able to withstand an anemone’s stinging tentacles, the clownfish use the anemones for protection from predators. In return, the clownfish clean the anemones of parasites, provide a source of nitrogen for growth and regeneration, and even help circulate the water around the anemones. While this is one of the most recognizable forms of mutualism in the ocean, sea anemones also have symbiotic relationships with a variety of crustaceans.

When marine biologists Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley and Tali Mass met at a science conference last June, they bonded over their shared interest in deep-water coral reef research and their specialized scuba diving skills. Both are technical divers, skilled at using equipment called rebreathers—which recycle every breath and incorporate a mix of oxygen, helium, and nitrogen gases—to access corals living at depths of about 100 to 500 feet (30 to 150 meters).

New research is shedding light on the impact of oxybenzone, a chemical filter found in many sunscreens, on Bermuda’s coral reefs. With funding from the Bermuda Government Department of Nature and Environmental Resources and NASA, a team of researchers at BIOS, led by senior scientist and coral reef ecologist Eric Hochberg, conducted a study to characterize the presence of oxybenzone, or benzophenone-3, in Bermuda’s nearshore waters, as well as the impacts on corals from long-term, low-dose exposure to the chemical.

BIOS assistant scientist Yvonne Sawall and research specialist Tim Noyes were chosen in early 2020 from among five applicants to receive funding from the Cawthorn Innovation Award for a project designed to advance understanding of the metabolic rates of corals and other reef organisms. The award was established in 2016 by trustee emeritus Rob Cawthorn to support innovative and challenging research ideas among scientists at BIOS.