The Ocean Census Awards 2024 funds more taxonomists to accelerate vital species discovery

Giada Spagliardi has a strong interest in the systematics and evolution of pteropods, or “sea butterflies”. She uses an integrative taxonomic approach that combines morphological and molecular data to better understand and describe pteropod species diversity, with an emphasis on cryptic species in poorly explored environments.

The importance of this research:

“This study addresses overlooked diversity within the deep-sea genus Peracle, enhancing its taxonomic framework to clarify species boundaries and distribution. 

By positioning Peracle as a bioindicator of ocean acidification, these findings will improve estimates of global calcium carbonate export, supporting marine conservation amid climate change.”

Gabriel Araujo is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, Brazil. Gabriel’s work focuses on studying reef fish diversity in Brazilian ecosystems, aiming to discover and describe new species in an evolutionary-spatial perspective. To achieve this, Gabriel uses an integrative taxonomy approach, combining genetic and anatomical data with phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses.

The importance of this research:

“Despite being well-studied, reef fish diversity, evolution, and distribution remain partially unknown, especially for cryptobenthic species due to their small size and elusive behavior. These fish face heightened extinction risks from human impacts, with regions like Brazil critically understudied. 

My research aims to document Brazilian reef fish diversity, focusing on cryptobenthic species to enhance biodiversity understanding and support conservation efforts.”

Dr. Laetitia Gunton, based at the University of Portsmouth’s School of the Environment and Life Sciences, has extensive experience in museum research at institutions like the Natural History Museum, London, and the Australian Museum, Sydney. Specializing in deep-sea annelid taxonomy, she actively promotes species discovery and taxonomy to future marine scientists.

The importance of this research:

“Annelids (marine worms) typically dominate the macrofauna (>300um) in the deep-sea soft sediments. Despite their abundance, the annelid fauna is often poorly characterised due to the large percentage of undescribed species commonly encountered.

Not knowing the correct identity of species in the marine community severely limits our ability to compare different locations and habitats, monitor changes, manage, and therefore protect these communities and the broader environment for future generations. How can we know what to protect in our oceans if we do not know what species live there?”

Samuel Gómez-Noguera is a senior researcher at UNAM’s LSEM. He specialises in taxonomy, systematics, and meiofauna ecology, having described 129 species, 16 genera, and one subfamily of copepods. Samuel’s research also investigates meiofaunal density and distribution in relation to coastal pollution in northwestern Mexico using molecular metabarcoding

The importance of this research:

“Meiofauna, small benthic organisms essential to marine ecosystems, are poorly understood due to complex taxonomy and limited specialist availability. Dominated by nematodes and harpacticoid copepods, their diversity is best documented in northern Europe, with Mexican and South American fauna among the least known.

With Ocean Census Award support, workshops will foster research and taxonomy of Latin American meiofauna, promoting new species discoveries.”

Paula C. Rodríguez Flores is a researcher who focuses on the evolution, biogeography, and systematics of crustaceans, with an emphasis on squat lobster taxonomy. She investigates diversity, speciation patterns and diversification trends.

The importance of this research:

“Deep-sea decapods, like squat lobsters, are often associated with corals in fragile deep-sea ecosystems and may indicate ecosystem health. However, their biodiversity and coral relationships remain largely unknown, with only a fraction of decapod diversity documented. 

Advances in ROV technology now allow direct observation, emphasizing the need for extensive taxonomic research to understand these species and their habitat dynamics fully.”

Dr. Jini Jacob, an accomplished meiobenthologist, specializes in marine nematodes, blending traditional taxonomy with molecular methods like barcoding to discover new species. Her research spans deep-sea and coastal ecosystems, advancing biodiversity knowledge and assessing ecosystem health in sensitive habitats like mangroves and deep-sea areas.

The importance of this research:

“Marine free-living nematodes in the Indian Ocean are highly diverse but understudied, with limited formal taxonomic descriptions. This research fills a crucial gap by documenting around 60 new nematode species across diverse habitats, creating essential baseline data for understanding species diversity, ecological roles, and ecosystem health.

Using integrative taxonomy, it enhances species identification accuracy, informing conservation and sustainable management efforts against climate change and habitat degradation, while supporting global marine biodiversity initiatives.”

Dr. Kerry Hadfield Malherbe, an associate professor at North-West University, South Africa, specializes in parasitic crustaceans, focusing on fish-parasitic isopods, copepods, and branchiurans. Her research highlights the ecological importance of fish parasites in biodiversity, addressing knowledge gaps in their taxonomy, diversity, and host relationships despite limited expertise in marine parasitology.

The importance of this research:

“This research addresses a vital knowledge gap in identifying fish-parasitic isopods, with few experts worldwide capable of describing these species. By discovering and documenting new isopod species, particularly from the Cymothoidae and Gnathiidae families, 

this work enhances understanding of their biodiversity, ecological roles, and potential impacts on fish populations. Integrating morphological and molecular data, it also supports future eDNA studies and marine conservation efforts.”