Acting Locally in the Abyss: How Describing 24 New Species in the Pacific Ocean is Helping Protect Our Oceans

Kingston, Jamaica – 29 May 2026 – This year, the International Day for Biological Diversity calls us to
“act locally for global impact,” a principle that resonates deeply with the scientists working to document life
in the most remote reaches of our oceans. In the deep seabed, where darkness, cold and crushing pressure define the
environment, most species remain unknown to science. Identifying, naming and describing them, the work of taxonomists,
is one of the most locally grounded acts in biology research which requires hands-on study of individual specimens from
sparse sites. And yet its impact is unmistakably global. Named species can be tracked, protected and incorporated into
the international frameworks that govern our shared ocean, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which sets ambitious
targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The work of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) also depends
on this knowledge to fulfill its responsibilities under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – to
regulate and control mineral-related activities in the international seabed Area while protecting the marine environment
– and to ensure the sustainable development of deep-sea activities.

As part of the observance of International Day for Biological Diversity, ISA is spotlighting four taxonomists whose work
carried out locally, in laboratories and at sea, is contributing to a growing global understanding of the biodiversity
of the deep seabed. Their discoveries, supported by  ISA’s Sustainable Seabed
Knowledge Initiative (SSKI), directly advance the One Thousand Reasons campaign, which aims to formally
describe at least one thousand new deep-sea species by 2030 in collaboration with the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Together, these efforts are
shaping how the international community understands, monitors, and protects the deep seabed and how it can effectively
implement the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).

Dr. Anna Jażdżewska is a marine biologist at the Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology at the University
of Lodz in Poland, who specializes in the taxonomy of deep-sea amphipod crustaceans, small, shrimp-like animals that are
among the most abundant yet least understood invertebrates in the deep ocean. Her most recent work, conducted in
collaboration with Dr. Tammy Horton of the National Oceanography Centre and 14 other experts and early-career
scientists, has resulted in the formal description of 24 new species of amphipoda from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a vast region of the central
Pacific Ocean spanning some six million square kilometres between Hawai’i and Mexico, and currently the focus of
international deep-sea mineral exploration in ISA’s contract areas.

Published in a special open-access issue of ZooKeys, the findings represent one of the most significant recent
advances in documenting amphipod biodiversity in the CCZ. Among the 24 new species, the team described a new genus, a
new family and in an exceptionally rare occurrence, an entirely new superfamily called Mirabestioidea. The
week-long taxonomy workshop organized at the University of Lodz in 2024 that produced these results also served as a
training ground for early-career researchers, demonstrating a model for how coordinated and collaborative taxonomy can
accelerate species discovery.

This year’s International Day for Biodiversity theme calls us to “act locally for global impact.” How does your
taxonomy work connect to this idea?

The oceans cannot be considered identical across different regions of the world. They, however, should be viewed as a
system of communicating organs. In our study, we described 24 new species of Amphipoda from the CCZ. In absolute terms,
this may not seem like a large number; however, parallel studies conducted in the same region have revealed the
existence of over 200 amphipod species, with only 17 assigned to previously known taxa. This indicates that our study
has effectively doubled the number of formally described species from this region.

What remains largely unknown are the distributional ranges of deep-sea taxa. Providing both detailed morphological
descriptions and molecular characterization, primarily COI barcodes, will facilitate future research on deep-sea
biodiversity. As more collections are processed and analysed, our understanding of species distributions in the deep sea
will improve, enabling better understanding of the processes shaping deep-sea ecosystems and supporting the
identification of vulnerable species and particularly valuable habitats.

Can you walk us through a recent discovery and what was most exciting or unexpected about it?

One finding that deserves special attention is the discovery of a new species that simultaneously represents a new
genus, a new family and a new superfamily, which is considered a rate event in taxonomy. The discovery and description
of Mirabestioidea by Dr. Tammy Horton and her co-authors is extremely exciting because we found that the
species representing the new superfamily was relatively abundant and found in multiple samples.

In our study, we described species representing different ecological groups, ranging from sediment-dwelling, less mobile
taxa to highly mobile and widely distributed epibenthic species. Many species were represented by only one or two
individuals, which did not allow for robust conclusions about their habitat preferences. Further studies based on more
extensive collections will help us better understand the habitat and feeding preferences of these taxa.

How do new tools like environmental DNA, AI-assisted image recognition and high-resolution video complement
classical taxonomy?

All these technologies are highly promising for studies of the marine environment. However, there are several
constraints that currently limit their applicability, at least in studies of Amphipoda. In the case of high-resolution
video, only the largest individuals can occasionally be detected in recordings, and even then, identification rarely
goes beyond the order level. AI-assisted image recognition may facilitate taxonomic identification at higher taxonomic
levels, but many species differ in subtle morphological characters located on appendages, which require specimen
preparation and detailed observation. Environmental DNA currently offers the greatest potential for monitoring but
depends on the existence of a comprehensive and reliable DNA barcode library for deep-sea species.

With this study, we aimed to address exactly that constraint. All species we describe are supplemented with DNA
barcodes, contributing to the growing barcode library for deep-sea species and helping to make future eDNA monitoring
more reliable and meaningful.

Washing samples collected with EBS, AleutBio expedition, Aleutian Trench Area, 2022

Sorting samples in the laboratory on research vessel AleutBio expedition, Aleutian Trench Area, 2022

Why does data sharing and collaboration across institutions matter for understanding the deep seabed?

There is a clear need to share results and data across countries, because we do not have ‘national’ oceans. Our oceans
are interconnected entities that are starkly different from one another. Sharing new knowledge collected across a
variety of regions across the oceans is critical in maintaining a permanent record of what exists in these areas. Our
collaborative taxonomy workshop, which also involved early-career researchers, enabled the training of a new generation
of scientists who will be able to continue this work in the future. The outcomes we achieved together would not have
been possible if each of us were working independently.

Why does ISA’s One Thousand Reasons campaign matter, and what does success look like in the next
decade?

Although taxonomic studies provide fundamental baseline knowledge essential for almost all more advanced analyses, they
are often regarded as a scientific ‘hobby’ rather than rigorous research. This perception has led to reduced funding and
a decline in the number of trained taxonomists. While we now have increasingly advanced methods for discovering species,
these organisms still need to be formally described. Only named species can gain broader scientific and societal
recognition and potentially become the subject of conservation efforts.

ISA’s One Thousand Reasons initiative brings the need for species descriptions and the importance of taxonomy back into
public and scientific discourse. The continued vitality of taxonomy as a scientific discipline that attracts young
researchers depends on these types of initiatives. Demonstrating that the discovery and description of species is not
only an exciting activity but also crucial for scientists, policymakers and the broader public will encourage young
researchers to pursue careers in taxonomy and increase the number of specialists who provide scientifically sound
baseline data that conservation and monitoring strategies depend upon.

About ISA

ISA is an autonomous intergovernmental organization mandated by the UNCLOS to manage the mineral resources of the seabed
beyond national jurisdiction for the shared benefit of humankind. ISA is committed to ensuring that all economic
activities in the deep seabed, including mining, are regulated and responsibly managed using the best available
scientific evidence for the benefit of all humankind.

About the “One Thousand Reasons” Campaign

Launched by the ISA under SSKI, it is a global effort to describe at least 1,000 new deep-sea species by 2030. The
campaign promotes international collaboration, particularly engaging scientists from developing States, and integrates
species descriptions into open-access databases to support sustainable management of the international seabed area.

SSKI is a multi-donor, flagship initiative under the ISA’s Marine Scientific Research Action Plan for the implementation
of the UN Decade of Ocean Science. The Initiative has received significant financial support from the European Union,
the Republic of Korea, France, Ireland, China, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), Portugal
and India.

For media inquiries, please contact:

ISA Communications Unit, news@isa.org.jm

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For more information, visit our website, www.isa.org.jm