Video Collections

Steinhart Aquarium biologists are shown collecting small cuttings of coral fragments on the California Academy of Sciences 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition. These fragments were legally exported from the Philippines and brought into cultivation as part of the Academy's efforts at sustainable collection-building. 

These small cuttings will be grown into larger colonies, which can then be fragmented to produce corals for display, in-house research projects and exchange with other zoos and aquaria. Exchanging captive-propagated corals is one way that we are able to reduce collection pressures on wild reefs.

Aquarium biologists travel to Costa Rica to gather animals for Academy exhibits.

Here is a behind the scenes look into feeding krill to a frogfish. Frogfishes, family Antennariidae, are a type of anglerfish in the order Lophiiformes. Frogfishes are found in almost all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas around the world, the primary exception being the Mediterranean Sea.

A behind the scenes look at the Dwarf Cuttlefish (Sepia bandensis) a native to the Indo-Pacific region of the ocean around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines eating a shrimp in slow motion.

A behind the scenes peek at the Dwarf Cuttlefish (Sepia bandensis) a native to the Indo-Pacific region of the ocean around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Watch as crabs get dropped into the tank, and the cuttlefish move in for the kill. Pay particular attention to the changing cuttlefish colors and their incredible natural camouflage.