Kingston, Jamaica – 30 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. Tim O’Hara is a senior researcher and curator at Museums Victoria in Australia, where he specializes in the taxonomy and biogeography of brittle stars, Ophiuroidea, one of the most ecologically widespread and species-rich groups of marine invertebrates on the planet. Brittle stars have inhabited the ocean floor for hundreds of millions of years and today carpet seafloor surfaces across the globe, from shallow coastal waters to the deepest abyssal plains. Despite their abundance, thousands of species remain undescribed, and their distribution across the deep sea is still being rigorously studied today.
Photo of Dr. Tim O’Hara at the Museums Victoria Research Institute
O’Hara’s most recent work, conducted in collaboration with taxonomists from Australia and Luxembourg, has resulted in the formal description of 12 new brittle star species from seamounts along or near the Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, a remote but biologically significant area. The ridge forms part of a transition zone between the cold Southern Ocean and the warmer Indian Ocean, providing stepping stones for marine species to cross the Indian Ocean over evolutionary time. Its seamounts host high levels of endemic species and are of growing economic relevance for both commercial fish stocks and the exploration of deep-sea minerals.
The discovery, which involved DNA fingerprinting, scanning electron microscopy, CT scanning and extensive archival research through museum collections around the world, adds meaningfully to the scientific baseline needed to understand and protect this region within the international seabed Area.
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?
We cannot protect a species without a name. A species name is like a unique index to find out everything we know about a biological species. We can use it to connect facts about distribution, ecology, life history, human impact and economic value. We can understand nature better with names.
A species name must be unique. To be valid, a taxonomist must be able to distinguish it from all other species described from around the world. The taxonomic literature has no use-by date. I still regularly consult pioneering books written 150 years ago.
Because the marine environment is interconnected, especially the deep sea where the same species can occur across oceans, I believe there is no such thing as a local-only study. Species are not limited by jurisdictional boundaries. All studies contribute to the understanding of the oceans as a whole. This year, we described 12 new brittle star species from seamounts along or near the Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, an area outside the control of any one nation. This area is remote but biologically rich, economically significant, and sitting at the intersection of global ocean currents.
Photo by Museums Victoria of Ophiopyrgus hainesae. Brittle stars are highly mobile echinoderms with flexible jointed arms and distinct central disc. They feed as scavengers or capture organic material suspended in the water column.
Photo provided by Museums Victoria of the Ophiuroglypha atlantis
How do new tools like environmental DNA, AI-assisted image recognition and high-resolution video complement classical taxonomy?
To be a taxonomist is like being a detective. You have to hunt for evidence. You use DNA to fingerprint new species and work out their relatives and evolutionary origin. You use a range of cameras, scanning electron microscopes and CT scanners to capture minute details. You have to explore dusty museums and old archives for specimens and papers to help you distinguish your new species from all others. And you have “eureka” moments when you suddenly solve a problem that has puzzled taxonomists for a hundred years.
Except for our extensive use of DNA sequence data, our recent taxonomic work followed the classical approach. Brittle stars cover seafloor surfaces across the globe and have been around for hundreds of millions of years. There are thousands of species. But from a distance, they still all pretty much look the same. They have five sinuous arms around a circular disc with a mouth. Underwater video has not been all that helpful identifying new species because it is only in very rare instances that you can see the minute morphological features that characterise different species.
Alternatively, I think that environmental DNA (eDNA) is a great tool, but it requires an existing reference library of DNA sequences from expert-identified specimens to work. Museums around the world are facilitating this by allowing tissue samples from identified specimens to be sequenced for the genes typically used in eDNA studies. Ideally, these specimens are permanently housed in a museum collection for future scientists to re-examine and verify. A DNA sequence, like a scientific species name, is a label to identify a real species. Nobody is going to campaign to save a DNA sequence. But they will act to protect a living species that can be detected using eDNA.
Why does data sharing and collaboration across institutions matter for understanding the deep seabed?
It is critically important that intergovernmental agencies like the ISA support research in areas outside national jurisdictions. The deep seabed is the common heritage of humankind. These areas are a critical part of the global ocean and of marine biodiversity. Without sustained institutional support, the research simply does not happen.
For that reason, global collaboration is essential. No single nation will be able to investigate the global ocean by itself. For our study, we had taxonomists from Australia and Luxembourg describing species from the Southwest Indian Ocean, collected by vessels funded by France and the United Kingdom. This was a truly global effort.
The risk of marine biodiversity loss is not a localized issue. It is a global challenge. Only through broad international cooperation, aggregating local-scale diversity data from different regions into a shared global framework, can we identify the core of that risk and provide robust scientific support for addressing it.
Dr. Tim O’Hara aboard the RV Investigator.
Photo provided by Museums Victoria
What would success look like in the next decade in terms of reducing the taxonomic data gap and building the next generation of deep-sea taxonomists?
It will be important to mainstream taxonomy within national and international science research institutes and funding programmes. Museums are gradually reducing their taxonomic research capacity and refocusing on science communication and exhibitions. There is a growing disconnect between where the funding goes and where the scientific benefits lie. Many natural history museums serve local or provincial communities and do not see the need to embark on global research. It is disappointing to say, but also a stark reality that the global taxonomic workforce is aging and is not being replaced. Reversing this trend requires deliberate sustained investment from governments, intergovernmental bodies like the ISA, and from the scientific community itself.
Dr. Tim O’Hara aboard the RV Investigator on arrival to Christmas Island. Photo provided by Museums Victoria
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.
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ISA Communications Unit, news@isa.org.jm
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