Can you tell if a coral is “pregnant”?. We asked Ocean Census Science Network member Luisa Dueñas all about her work on deep-sea octocorals. 🔗 Find out here

RT @SanahanbiKhang3: Don't miss the opportunity to dive into the latest insights! 🎙🌊 Join the special lecture by Lucy Woodall from @oceance….

Searching for new species? It’s not always so shrimple! 🦐 A red fog of crustaceans became quite the challenge for scientists searching for new species on the #SouthSandwichIslands expedition. 📸 @alexinglephoto / @SchmidtOcean

Heard about the Ocean Census Science Network, but still not sure what it is or how you can benefit from joining our global community?. Here's Science Network Manager Verity to explain the opportunities involved. Join the Network:

🌱 Bamboo: fast growing, annoys your neighbours. 🌊 Bamboo coral: slow growing, made up of neighbours - thousands of tiny polyps living and working together! . This particular specimen (Keratoisididae) was found at a depth of 959m during the #SouthSandwichIslands expedition.

For Dr Sonia Rowley, diving among gorgonian octocorals brings moments of pure excitement. Spotting a familiar species is like meeting an old friend, while discovering one for the first time is unforgettable. Watch Gorgonians of the Mesophotic

With funds generously contributed by #TheNipponFoundation, these awards aim to help overcome financial barriers related to fieldwork, specimen preparation, and publication.

The Ocean Census is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Species Discovery Awards. The Awards provide financial support to talented marine scientists driving the discovery and description of life in our ocean. Meet the 2025 Awardees:

RT @SoniaJRowley: Many thanks to @oceancensus for your support 🪸.

RT @MNHNcl: Recientemente Jorge Pérez-Schultheiss, curador del Área de Zoología de Invertebrados 🦐 del museo fue parte de una relevante ini….

Watch the short film, featuring 2023 @Oceano_mag Ocean Photographer of the Year Award winner Jialing Cai.

"I interrupted the professor: ‘Are you saying I can throw myself into the open ocean at night and wait…and the deep sea will come to me?’ In that moment, I knew I had to become a blackwater photographer” - 2023 Ocean Photographer of the Year, Jialing Cai. #WorldPhotographyDay

On #WorldPhotographyDay we’re celebrating how imagery helps scientists discover new species. From revealing colours and features that fade in preservation, to identifying key details under the microscope, images are central to taxonomy. Can you think of any more examples?

Ernest Ohandja Nomo is leading an expedition studying annelid worms in the Gulf of Guinea. His research will document biodiversity in some of West Africa’s most ecologically important but under-studied habitats. Meet the 2025 Expedition Awardees ➡️

Dr. Andreas Altenburger is sailing from Greenland to Alaska as part of One Ocean Expedition II (@statsraad) investigating the biodiversity of marine animals in Arctic sediments. Meet the 2025 Ocean Census Expedition Awardees ➡️

Meet Team Polychaete 🪱. Americo Montiel and Tania Figueroa Delgado (@udemagallanes) are analysing polychaetes at the Ocean Census Species Discovery Workshop in Chile. This particular specimen is a potential new species from the #SouthSandwichIslands.

Jan will join a pioneering deep-sea survey off Uruguay’s coast, with @SchmidtOcean. The team will be exploring sponge fields, coral gardens, and cold seeps using ROVs. Meet the 2025 Ocean Census Expedition Awardees ➡️

Dan Ishibashi is exploring submarine caves off the coast of southern Japan, with @JAMSTEC_PR. Meet the 2025 Ocean Census Expedition Awardees ➡️ @Dan1484bryozoan

Dr Daniel Lauretta is onboard @SchmidtOcean's research vessel, leading a team of scientists studying marine life in one of Argentina's deepest underwater canyons. Meet the 2025 Ocean Census Expedition Awardees ➡️

RT @EVNautilus: On the NA174 expedition, our partner @oceancensus sponsored Luisa Dueñas from @BogotaUNAL to join the Science Team. Luisa’s….