Previous Award Recipients

The Deep-Sea Biology Society promotes research and networking efforts for a large diversity of biologists, incl. many early-career researchers, which we are proud to count amongst these previous award recipients.

Research Awards

2025

  • Gerrit Meiners, PhD student (Senckenberg am Meer, Wilhelmshaven, Germany): participation to the German-American Nature-Based Solutions Exchange (GANBASE) co-hosted at Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research and POCACITO (July 2025). Award Report
  • Victoria Assad, PhD student (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, USA): community and life history analyses costs (reproductive capacity based on histology) to understand the potential impacts of deep-sea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ) on micronekton.
  • Jonathan N. Flores, Postdoc (Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR), CCT CENPAT-CONICET): diversity, systematics, and connectivity of sea urchins (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) from the Mar del Plata Submarine Canyon, Argentina.

2024

  • Simone Brito de Jesus (Federal University of São Paulo): Internship at the Museum of Natural History in Sweden, on the taxonomic diversity, phylogenetic patterns, and molecular characteristics of deep-sea nematodes.
  • Johanna Weston (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution): Research Cruise on RV Polarstern PS143/1 (07.06.2024 – 09.07.2024) to Fram Strait and East Greenland Shelf (Chief scientist: Frank Wenzhöfer).

2023

  • Pavanee Annasawmy (Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Plouzané, France): Influencing factors for the frequency of microplastic intake in deep-sea fishes of the tropical Indian Ocean
  • Cristina Gutiérrez-Zárate (Centro Oceanográfico de Gijón, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO-CSIC), Spain; Universitat de Barcelona, Spain): Tissue biomass and biochemical composition of Dendrophyllia cornigera under the single and combined effects of warming, acidification and deoxygenation.
  • Emanuel Pereira (Insitituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET-UBA, Argentina): Integrative taxonomy and diversity of deep-sea valviferan Antarcturidae (Crustacea: Peracarida: Isopoda) from Argentina.

2022

  • Leonel Ivan Pacheco (Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales (MACN) “Bernardino Rivadavia”) – Taxonomy of Septibranchia and Protobranchia bivalves from the southern Southwestern Atlantic deep sea
  • Vanessa Stenvers (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research) – The evolution of visual systems in the holopelagic Oxycephalidae (Amphipoda, Hyperiidea)

Conferences Support Awards

2026

  • Melanie S. Stott (Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre, The University of Western Australia, Australia)
  • Alfredo Rosales (Department of Genetics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain)
  • Hiba Mrich (EcoAfrik Group, University of Vigo, Spain)

17th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, Hong Kong, SAR, China, January 2025

  • Oenone Scott (University of Essex, UK)
  • Pedro Augusto da Silva Peres (Florida International University, USA)
  • Lucy Goodwin (University of Liverpool, USA)
  • Heloisa De Cia Caixeta (Oceanographic Institute of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil)
  • Erika Belen Gress (James Cook University, Australia)
  • Jaime-Leigh Lue Chin (The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago)
  • Brenda Lizbeth Esteban Vazquez (Department of Biological Sciences and Centre for Deep Sea Research, University of Bergen, Norway)
  • Luke McCartin (Lehigh University, USA)

2023

  • Michelle Neitzey (Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, USA): AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting
  • Flávia Tiemi Masumoto (Institute Oceanographic of the University of São Paulo, Brazil): 17th Deep Sea Biology Symposium

Participation Support Awards (replaced by “Conference Support Awards“)

2023

  • Camille Poitrimol (Sorbonne Université, France): 7th International Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems Symposium
  • Melissa Betters (Temple University, USA): 7th International Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems Symposium
  • Michelle McCartha (Western Washington University, USA): 7th International Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems Symposium
  • Gervaise Barre (Ghent University, Belgium; Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy: University of Algarve, Portugal): 8th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals

2022

  • Renata Micaela Pertossi (Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Argentina): International Echinoderm Conference
  • Claudia Francesca Vaga (Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil): 8th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals
  • Savannah Goode (Victoria University of Wellington & National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand): 8th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals

Outstanding Ph.D thesis Paper (£500)

2023

  • Joan Manel Alfaro Lucas (Ifremer, EEP, Plouzané, France)
    Alfaro‐Lucas, J.M., Pradillon, F., Zeppilli, D., Michel, L.N., Martinez‐Arbizu, P., Tanaka, H., Foviaux, M. and Sarrazin, J., 2020. High environmental stress and productivity increase functional diversity along a deep‐sea hydrothermal vent gradient. Ecology, 101(11), p.e03144. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3144

2021

  • Travis Richards (Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, United States)
    Richards, T.M., Sutton, T.T. and Wells, R.D., 2020. Trophic structure and sources of variation influencing the stable isotope signatures of meso-and bathypelagic micronekton fishes. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, p.507992. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.507992

2018

  • Takuya Yahagi (University of Tokyo, Japan)
    Yahagi, T., Watanabe, H.K., Kojima, S. and Kano, Y. (2017) Do larvae from deep-sea hydrothermal vents disperse in surface waters? Ecology 98: 1524-1534. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1800

Paper of the Year (£100)

  • 2023: Morganti, T.M., Slaby, B.M., de Kluijver, A., Busch, K., Hentschel, U., Middelburg, J.J., Grotheer, H., Mollenhauer, G., Dannheim, J., Rapp, H.T. and Purser, A., Boetius, A. 2022. Giant sponge grounds of Central Arctic seamounts are associated with extinct seep life. Nature Communications, 13(1), p.638. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28129-7
  • 2020: Macheriotou, L., Rigaux, A., Derycke, S. and Vanreusel, A., 2020. Phylogenetic clustering and rarity imply risk of local species extinction in prospective deep-sea mining areas of the Clarion–Clipperton Fracture Zone. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 287(1924), p.20192666. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.2666
  • 2019: Wishner, K.F., Seibel, B.A., Roman, C., Deutsch, C., Outram, D., Shaw, C.T., Birk, M.A., Mislan, K.A.S., Adams, T.J., Moore, D. and Riley, S. (2018) Ocean deoxygenation and zooplankton: Very small oxygen differences matter. Science advances 4 (12), p.eaau5180. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/12/eaau5180
  • 2018: Gaither, M.R., Gkafas, G.A., de Jong, M., Sarigol, F., Neat, F., Regnier, T., Moore, D., Gröcke, D.R., Hall, N., Liu, X., Kenny, J., Lucaci, A., Haldenby, S. and Hoelzel, A.R. (2018) Genomics of habitat choice and adaptive evolution in a deep-sea fish. Nature Ecology and Evolution 2: 680-687. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0482-x
  • 2017: Quattrini, A.M., Gomez, C.E. and Cordes, E.E. (2017) Environmental filtering and neutral processes shape octocoral community assembly in the deep sea. Oecologia 183: 221-236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3765-4

Travel Awards (replaced by more generalist “Participation Support Awards“)

7th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals (ISDSC), Cartagena, Colombia 2019

Deep-Sea Biology Society Awards/7th ISDSC Organising Committee (£750)

  • Phil Alderslade (CSIRO, Australia)
  • Salome Ursula Buglass (Charles Darwin Foundation)
  • Janina Vanessa Büscher (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Germany)
  • Danielle De Leo (Florida International University, USA)
  • Giovanni Chimienti (University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy)
  • Krista Greeley (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada). Award Report
  • Ulrike Hanz (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Netherlands)
  • Nicholas Hitt (Victoria University Of Wellington, New Zealand)
  • Nissa Kreidler (NOAA & Humboldt State University, USA)
  • Daniel Lauretta (Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Argentina)
  • Antonella Lavorato (Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur, Mexico)
  • Luke McCartin (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA). Award Report
  • Beatriz Mejia-Mercado (Florida State University, USA)
  • Bárbara de Moura Neves (Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada)
  • Guillem Corbera Pascual (University of Southamtpon, UK)
  • Tabitha Pearman (National Oceanography Centre Southampton, UK)
  • David Price (University of Southampton, UK)
  • Íris Sampaio (University of the Azores, Portugal). Award Report
  • Candice Untiedt (CSIRO & University of Tasmania, Australia)
  • Leslie Wickes (Thrive Blue LLC, USA)
15th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, Monterey, USA, September 2018
Deep-Sea Biology Society Awards/Frontiers in Marine Science (£750)
  • Poppy Best (Plymouth University, UK). Award Report
  • Raissa Hogan (National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland)
  • Sven Laming (Ifremer, France)
  • Beatriz Mejia Mercado (Florida State University, USA). Award Report
  • Elisabeth Myers (Massey University, New Zealand). Award Report
  • Craig Robertson (University of Wales Bangor, UK)
  • Lissette Victorero (National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK)
  • Yi Yang (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong). Award Report
15th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, Monterey, USA, September 2018
International Seabed Authority Awards (£2000)
  • Luna Cruz (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico)
  • Marina Fernandez (University of São Paulo, Brazil)
  • Eleonora Puccinelli (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
  • Pamela Rivadeneira (Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Argentina)
  • Diana Salcedo (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico)
6th Chemosynthetic Based Ecosystems, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, August 2017 (£750)
  • Abbie Chapman (University of Southampton, UK). Award Report
  • Jessica Panzarino (Harvard University, USA)
  • Olivia Pereira (Scripps Institute of Oceanography, USA). Award Report
  • Shelbi Russell (University of California Santa Cruz, USA). Award Report
6th International Deep Sea Coral Symposium, Boston, USA, September 2016 (£250)
  • Danielle Glynn (University of California, Santa Cruz, USA)
  • Sandra Maier (NIOZ, Netherlands)
3rd International Submarine Canyon Symposium, Victoria, Canada July 2016 (£250)
  • Neus Campanyà i Llovet (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada)
  • Pauline Chauvet (Ifremer, France)

Student and Early Career Presentation Awards

eDSBS, August 2020

Early Career Outstanding Talks

  • Danielle DeLeo (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USA)
    “Illuminating the impact of diel vertical migration on visual gene expression in deep-sea shrimp“
  • Cherisse Du Preez (Fisheries and Oceans Canada)
    “Rapid deep ocean changes with long-lasting results“

Early Career Outstanding Posters

  • Mackenzie Gerringer (State University of New York College, USA)
    “Pressure Tolerance in Enzymes of Abyssal and Hadal Fishes“

Honorable Mention

  • Shinta Fujimoto (Tohoku University, Japan)
    “An undescribed genus and species of the phylum Loricifera from Japanese Waters, Northwest Pacific“

Student Outstanding Talks

  • Kathrin Busch (GEOMAR, Germany)
    “Seamount effects on seawater and sponge-associated microbial communities“

Also Noted for Student talks

  • Otis Brunner (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan)
    “Hydrothermal Vent Community Assemblage Networks of the North-West Pacific”
  • Maeva Perez (Université de Montréal, Canada)
    “Fine scale population structure of a keystone microbial species uncovered with CRISPR”
  • Jeremy Horowitz (James Cook University, Australia)
    “Targeted capture of conserved loci provides phylogenomic resolution for black corals (Order Antipatharia) at the generic and species level”
  • Virginia Biede (Florida State University, USA)
    “Seamount hard substrate community response to large scale disturbance”
  • Darrin Schultz (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA)
    “The chromosome-scale genome assembly of a ctenophore and animal genome architecture”

Student Outstanding Posters

  • Charlie Keeney (University of Plymouth, UK and NUI Galway, Ireland)
    “Combining genetic and visual data to improve identification of Octocorallia (Alcyoniidae and Paramuricea) from the Irish deep-sea”

Honorable Mention

  • Sam Afoullouss (NUI Galway, Ireland)
    “Bioactive Metabolites isolated from North East Atlantic Deep-Sea Corals and Sponges”
  • Katharine Bigham (Victoria University of Wellington, N.I.W.A., New Zealand)
    “Effects of turbidity flows on deep-sea benthic communities: signs of early megafauna recovery observed in time-series imagery”
15th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, Monterey, USA, September 2018

Best Student Talk (£100)

  • Kate Thomas (Duke University, USA)
    “Now you see me, now you don’t: Cephalopod visual ranges and implications for deep-sea visual ecology”

 Highly Commended Student Talks (£40)

  • Karin Steffen (Uppsala University, Sweden)
    “Investigating sponge microbiome and metabolome along a depth gradient”
  • Franziska Bergmeier (LMU, Munich, Germany)
    “Bathyal slope to hadal trench: diversity and biogeography of Solenogastres (Mollusca) in the Northwest Pacific”

Best Student Poster (£100)

  • Richard Jones (Florida Atlantic University, USA)
    “Ecology of the barracudinas (Paralepididae) in the Gulf of Mexico”

 Highly Commended Student Posters (£40)

  • Ben Burford (Stanford University, USA)
    “Visual signalling by a group-forming squid in the deep sea”
  • Abigail von Hagel (University of Washington, USA)
    “Depth-related Skeletal Reduction in Snailfishes (Liparidae)”
6th Chemosynthetic Based Ecosystems, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, August 2017

Best Student Talk (£100)

  • Abbie Chapman (University of Southampton, UK)
    “Contributions of rare and common species to the functional diversity of basalt-hosted tubeworm bush communities from the Juan de Fuca Ridge”
14th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, Aveiro, Portugal, September 2015

Best Student Talk (£75)

  • Jen Durden (University of Southampton, UK)
    “Abyssal hills, source of heterogeneity in sedimentary conditions and benthic faunal activity”

 Best Student Poster (£75)

  • Rui Vieira (University of Southampton, UK)
    “Quantifying trawling impacts on benthic megafauna in the Porcupine Seabight (bathyal NE Atlantic)”

Dive Deeper Research Bursaries Awards (£1000)

2021
  • Angelee Annasawmy (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France).
  • Diana Leticia Salcedo Oropeza (Institute of Biology -UNAM, Mexico).
2020
2019
2018
2017
  • Brit Finucci (University of Wellington, New Zealand). Award Report
  • Michelle Taylor (University of Oxford, UK). Award Report

Cruise Bursaries (up to £2000)

2021

  • Kelsey Archer Barnhill (University of Edinburgh, UK).
  • Nicole Pittoors (Lehigh University, USA).

Lounsbery Workshop Award (£4000)

2019

Dr Luisa Dueñas (Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia)
Deep-Sea Coral Taxonomy Workshop (2-4 December 2019, INVEMAR, Colombia.). Announcement; Report

2017

Dr Kerry Howell (Plymouth University, UK)
Training workshop in the identification of cold water corals from image data (6 December 2017, Plymouth University, UK). Announcement

Landmark Paper (£500)

2018

Mireia Mestre (Institut de Ciènces del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona, Spain)
Mestre, M., Ruiz-González, C., Logares, R., Duarte, C.M., Gasol, J.M. and Montserrat Sala, M. (2018) Sinking particles promote vertical connectivity in the ocean microbiome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 115: E6799-E6807. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1802470115

2015

Nicholas Higgs (Plymouth University, UK) Award Report
Higgs, N.D. and Attrill, M.J. (2015) Biases in biodiversity: wide-ranging species are discovered first in the deep sea. Front. Mar. Sci. 2:61. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2015.00061

Previous Award Recipients

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