Save the Date - World Conference on Marine Biodiversity 2026 - Bruges, Belgium

 

Upcoming events: The 7th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity. November - 2026

 The 7th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity will be organized in Bruges between November 17th and 20th 2026.

The World Conference on Marine Biodiversity series (WCMB) is conducted tri-annually. The WCMB is a high-level international meeting that focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity. The conference provides a platform for policymakers, scientists, conservationists, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to discuss current and emerging marine biodiversity issues and identify ways to protect and sustainably manage marine ecosystems and their resources.

Previous editions were held in:

1. Valencia, Spain (2008) - Outcome: Valencia Declaration - A Plea for the Protection of Marine Biodiversity
2. Aberdeen, Scotland (2011) - "Our Oceans, Our Future"
3. Qingdao, China (2014) - "Life in the Changing Ocean"
4. Montreal, Canada (2018) - "Connecting with the Living Ocean"
5. Auckland, New Zealand (2020) - "Understanding the current scale and importance of biodiversity in the marine environment"
6. Penang, Malaysia (2023) - "Marine Biodiversity Challenges in the Anthropocene"

Further information

Widesperad Coral Bleaching (II)

Effects of Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching has devastating effects on coral reef ecosystems. When corals bleach, they expel the symbiotic algae that provide them with nutrition. This leads to starvation and death of the corals if bleaching persists. Widespread coral mortality can destroy entire reef ecosystems. Coral reefs support incredibly diverse marine life, so the loss of corals means the loss of habitat for many species. Mass bleaching events have caused up to 90% mortality on some reefs, leading to a dramatic decrease in fish populations and biodiversity. The destruction of coral reefs also heavily impacts human communities. Many people depend on reefs for tourism, fishing, and coastal protection from storms. Loss of coral reefs means loss of income and food sources for these communities. Fishing and tourism industries suffer greatly when reefs die off.

Major Coral Bleaching Events

Coral reefs around the world have experienced severe bleaching events over the past few decades as ocean temperatures have risen. Some of the major events include:

1998 Coral Bleaching Event

In 1998, an estimated 16% of the world's reefs were badly damaged or destroyed by bleaching triggered by unusually warm ocean temperatures. This event was associated with a strong El Niño weather pattern and was the first global-scale bleaching event recorded. The Great Barrier Reef off Australia experienced major bleaching, with over 60% of reefs affected. Other regions like the Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and islands in the Caribbean also saw extensive bleaching.

2010 Coral Bleaching Event

Another major bleaching event took place in 2010, again driven by El Niño conditions. Coral reefs across the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and parts of the Pacific were impacted. Up to 80% of coral was bleached in the Andaman Sea, and over 40% of reefs surveyed on the Great Barrier Reef showed signs of bleaching.

2014-2017 Global Coral Bleaching Event

The longest and most widespread coral bleaching event on record occurred from 2014-2017. It affected reefs across the Pacific, Indian Ocean, Atlantic, and Caribbean. Over 70% of the world's reefs experienced bleaching, with the Great Barrier Reef being severely impacted - up to 50% of its shallow-water corals died in the northern region. Back-to-back bleaching also occurred over multiple years, further damaging reefs already under stress. This event highlighted the vulnerability of coral reefs to warming oceans.

Cold-water coral found to trap itself on mountains in the deep sea

Credit: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research

Kristian Fauchald Polychaete Research Fellowship

 

Background:

This fellowship was established through a generous donation from the estate of Leonard P. Hirsch (Smithsonian Institution Office of International Relations and Office of the Undersecretary for Science) and Kristian Fauchald (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Curator of Polychaetes).

Purpose:

The Kristian Fauchald Polychaete Research Fellowships provide financial support to enable polychaete biologists from graduate students through senior researchers to conduct independent collections-based research in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology (IZ) at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH).  These funds enable Kristian’s legacy of encouraging and including polychaetologist from around the world in USNM Polychaete Collection research.

Eligibility:

Fellowships are available to active polychaete researchers from graduate students through senior researchers who are actively involved in collections-based research (e.g. systematics, phylogeny, biogeography, comparative morphology, functional morphology, diversity, etc). Both US and non-US citizens are eligible at apply. Awardees are expected to be in residence in the Washington, D.C. area and to spend a significant amount of time working in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology during their tenure. Applicants should contact Karen Osborn, Curator of Polychaetes, well in advance of submitting their application to discuss feasibility of the proposed research.

Term:

Fellowship proposals are solicited biannually for projects ranging from one week to six months.

Spring applications due April 1, awards announced by May 15, tenure terms begin after August 1.

Fall applications due October 1, awards announced by November 15, tenure terms begin after February 1

Further Information

Gastrotrichs: Four Day Old Grandmothers

 Source: Journey to the Microcosmos

Anélidos marinos de México y América tropical (Spanish version)

Universidad Autónoma de Nueva León 

Repositorio Digital

Resumen

Esta obra surge en medio de varias iniciativas compilatorias de las generalidades sobre los anélidos marinos, tales como la serie Handbook of Zoology, el número especial de la revista Diversity, así como la anunciada segunda edición de una obra que cumple 20 años de ser publicada (Polychaetes, ahora con el título Annelids). El presente esfuerzo se dirige a facilitar la identificación de las especies de anélidos en las regiones tropicales del continente americano, con algunas especies de la región templada del litoral occidental del estado mexicano de Baja California. Esta obra resultó del esfuerzo de 45 autores de Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Estados Unidos de América, México y Venezuela; posee un capítulo introductorio con generalidades y claves para las familias del mundo, seguidas de capítulos para 59 familias, además de incorporar contribuciones equivalentes para oligoquetos, hirudos (sanguijuelas) y simpunculos (gusanos cacahuate). En suma, la obra presenta claves para 782 géneros y 3,304 especies, en 1054 páginas. Los capítulos fueron revisados por uno de los editores y por lo menos un árbitro externo, y estos últimos fueron 44 de 12 países diferentes.

Take a look at these amazing book chapters:

Download 1 part

Download 2 part

Download 3 part

Read more information here

And visit the official website of Universidad Autónoma de Nueva León

¿Acoela?: Meiofauna al microscopio (Perú central)

 

Swimming in Tomopteris - SICB 2021 presentation

 

Walking on the beach

 

Identification of Copepoda

 

Check out an interview I did with my friend Dr. Nancy Mercado-Salas on her fascination with tiny copepods, why it is so interesting to look at them morphologically and genetically, and why research cruises are so awesome :) https://t.co/3Ffmw5RkV9

— Eva Paulus (@Deep_Sea_Dirndl) November 3, 2020

Phylum Gastrotricha.

Seguimos con el hilo! Ejemplar del Phylum Gastrotricha. 400X. Ejemplar obtenido en una muestra de agua dulce, de un acuario de agua caliente (~24ºC). Inofensivo para el resto de inquilinos 👨🏽‍🔬 pic.twitter.com/xR2IR6W4FQ

— Tony (@TonySiscar) May 21, 2020

Curso: Introducción a la Identificación Taxonómica del Bentos Marino

Descargar aquí / Download here

Echinoderes sp. (M. Lee & A. Schmidt-Rhaesa)

A miscellaneous sample of meiofauna

Worm, mitosis and crustaceans, a video by *My Microscopic World*

Desert Seas

5th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, 13-16 December 2020

Further information

Summer Course Nematology, 6 july-14 august, 2020

Guide to the identification of Marine Meiofauna by Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa

New book alert - edited by a friend of mine. 608 pages of the marvellous Meiofauna. Do yourself a favour and buy it. pic.twitter.com/SD8cwA9cyg

— Ross Piper (@DrRossPiper) February 27, 2020