Autonomous Behaving Lagrangian Explorers (ABLEs), underwater robots, Bodega Marine Laboratory, Bodega Bay, California, USA

It's been assumed that tiny microscopic sea larvae are too small to navigate ocean currents, leading many to believe that their survival is based on chance. But that's not how nature works.

UC Davis researchers are using robots to study larvae behavior.

It turns out marine larvae stay much closer to the shoreline than expected, and their abilities have been greatly underestimated. They're able to navigate ocean currents by moving up and down in the water column.

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Scientists just released robots that look like Minions into the Pacific Ocean. The little bots are on a mission to unravel one of the great mysteries of the sea: what the hell are marine larvae up to?

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