The Ocean Census Announces 2025
Species Discovery Awardees
Ocean Census Species Discovery Awardees
The Ocean Census is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Species Discovery Awards — a celebration of the pioneering scientists and taxonomists driving the discovery and description of life in our ocean. With a total fund of $250,000, generously contributed by the Nippon Foundation, these awards aim to help overcome financial barriers related to fieldwork, specimen preparation, and publication.
The Species Discovery Awards provide crucial backing for taxonomic research, enabling visits to collections, advanced laboratory analyses, and the sharing of new species data with the global scientific community. By empowering researchers, the awards ensure that new discoveries not only expand scientific knowledge but also contribute directly to the mission of Ocean Census: accelerating the discovery of ocean life before it is lost.
The 2025 programme has increased the maximum amount of financial support per awardee, expanding the scope of taxonomic work and species discovery possible. This reflects the success of the 2024 awardees programme, whose work contributed important discoveries to the wider Ocean Census Programme.
Among last year’s highlights:
Dr. David Ebert (Chondrichthyans – Sharks): Conducted detailed morphological and genetic analyses of new species from the Nansen Survey, while mentoring graduate students and postdocs in shark taxonomy.
Dr. Sonia Rowley (Anthozoa – Octocorals): Advanced the validation of newly discovered Gorgonian Octocorals from mesophotic depths in the Indo-Pacific, combining morphological (SEM), molecular (WGS), and phylogenetic approaches.
Representing Remarkable Diversity
This year’s 19 awardees represent a remarkable diversity of expertise, geographies, and ecosystems. From coral reefs to deep-sea habitats, their collective efforts will accelerate our understanding of Earth’s hidden marine biodiversity.
The Ocean Census will be showcasing the awardees in the coming weeks across our channels — sharing the stories behind their research and the impact of their work. See below for the full list of recipients, and follow our social media for in-depth features, profiles and highlights.
Meet the 2025 awardees
Christopher Goatley
Research Taxa: Dwarfgobies (Fish)
Affiliation: University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Pamela Ruth Rivadeneira
Research Taxa: Asteroidea (Sea stars)
Affiliation: Institute of Marine and Coastal Research, CONICET
Diego Francisco Biston Vaz
Research Taxa: Coral gobies (Fish)
Affiliation: Natural History Museum, London
Jingchun Li
Research Taxa: Galeommatoidea (Mollusca, Bivalvia)
Affiliation: University of Colorado Boulder, United States
David Ebert
Research Taxa: Chondrichthyes (Sharks)
Affiliation: Pacific Shark Research Center / Moss Landing Marine Laboratories / San Jose State University, United States
Singgih Afifa Putra
Research Taxa: Sponges
Affiliation: Independent
Kevin Monsecour
Research Taxa: Columbellidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda)
Affiliation: Independent
Gary Poore
Research Taxa: Serolidae (Crustacea, Isopoda)
Affiliation: Museums Victoria, Australia
Graham Short
Research Taxa: Flagtail Pipefish
Affiliation: California Academy of Sciences, United States
Yander Luis Diez Garcia
Research Taxa: Microturbellarians (Flatworms)
Affiliation: Smithsonian Institution, United States
Svetlana Maslakova
Research Taxa: Ribbon worms (Nemertea)
Affiliation: Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, United States
Guido Pastorino
Research Taxa: Gastropods and Bivalves
Affiliation: Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Argentina
Marta Gellert
Research Taxa: Crustaceans (Tanaidacea)
Affiliation: University of Lodz, Poland
Rachael Peart
Research Taxa: Amphipods
Affiliation: Earth Sciences New Zealand, New Zealand
Storm B. Martin
Research Taxa: Fish parasites (Trematodes and Monogeneans)
Affiliation: Murdoch University, Australia
Maciej Mańko
Research Taxa: Siphonophores (Cnidarians)
Affiliation: Yale University, United States & University of Gdańsk, Poland
Yves Terryn
Research Taxa: Terebridae (Mollusca, Gastropoda)
Affiliation: Independent
Sancia E.T. van der Meij
Research Taxa: Lithoscaptus (Crustacea)
Affiliation: University of Groningen, Netherlands
Peter Stahlschmidt
Research Taxa: Turrid gastropods
Affiliation: Independent
(Images below are in order of Awardees from left to right)
Further Information
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Reach out: science@oceancensus.org
For more information about the Ocean Census Species Discovery Awards 2025 please see here.
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