From crabs to octopuses, clams to marine worms, invertebrates play a significant role in ocean ecosystems. Many are important prey for fish, marine mammals, and humans. Others, such as corals and oysters, create essential habitat for marine species.
NOAA Fisheries is responsible for the sustainable management of many species of invertebrates—including white shrimp, Alaska snow crab, and Quahog clam—commonly harvested for human consumption. We are also responsible for protecting invertebrate species listed under the Endangered Species Act such as white abalone and elkhorn coral.
Invertebrates are the most diverse group of animals in the ocean. Some common marine invertebrates include mollusks, crustaceans, and corals.
Mollusks are a category of invertebrates with over 50,000 known species. They are soft-bodied animals that may have a hard external shell (formed by secreting calcium carbonate), a hard internal shell, or no shell at all. Mollusks include abalone, conch, oysters, and clams, as well as octopus and squid.
Crustaceans are a subcategory of invertebrates closely related to insects and spiders. They typically have a body covered with a hard shell or crust. Crustaceans include shrimp, krill, lobsters, and crabs.
Corals are known as colonial organisms because many individual creatures live and grow while connected to each other. The tiny, individual organisms that make up large coral colonies are called coral polyps. Stony, shallow-water corals—the kind that build reef habitat—are one type of coral. There are also soft corals and deep sea corals that live in dark, cold waters. Learn more about corals.
Species News
Recreational razor clamming can bring thousands of visitors to the Washington coast. Toxins concentrated in razor clam and Dungeness crab fisheries have caused economic damage to coastal communities.
Pocillopora grandis coral colonies serve as a welcome shelter for these butterflyfish and damselfish. Photo: NOAA Fisheries/Ari Halperin.
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Research
Record Marine Heatwaves Build Reservoir of Toxic Algae Off the U.S. West Coast, New Study Reveals
Repeated marine heatwaves off the U.S. West Coast starting about 2013 fueled record harmful algal blooms that seeded a region off Northern California and Southern Oregon with toxic algae, a new study has found. That reservoir of harmful algae has, in…
20 Memorable Marine Stories, Videos, and Photos of 2020
Sharks, whales, turtles, and much more! Revisit our top features of the year below. Top 5 Feature Stories 1. 12 Shark Facts That May Surprise You Do sharks have bones or good eyesight? During Shark Week 2020, we explored shark facts that you…
String of Marine Heatwaves Continues to Dominate Northeast Pacific
During the summer of 2020, an area of unusually warm ocean water—a marine heatwave—grew off the West Coast of the United States. It became the second most expansive Northeast Pacific heatwave since monitoring began in 1982. The heatwave eventually…
Using eDNA to Monitor Alaskan Waters for Invasive European Green Crabs
Natural resource managers in British Columbia discovered several adult male and female European green crabs on Haida Gwaii this past July. Alarm bells immediately went off for biologists in Alaska. The archipelago of Haida Gwaii, off the coast of…
Understanding Sustainable Seafood
Well-managed wild-capture fisheries and environmentally responsible marine aquaculture play an increasingly important role in our food supply, our health, and the environment.
