The World Amphipoda Database: history and progress

We provide an overview of the World Amphipoda Database (WAD), a global species database that is part of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Launched in 2013, the database contains entries for over 10,500 accepted species names. Edited currently by 31 amphipod taxonomists, following WoRMS priorities, the WAD has at least one editor per major group. All accepted species are checked by the editors, as is the authorship available for all of the names. The higher classification is documented for every species and a type species is recorded for every genus name. This constitutes five of the 13 priorities for completion, set by WoRMS. In 2015, five LifeWatch grants were allocated for WAD activities. These included a general training workshop in 2016, together with data input for the superfamily Lysianassoidea and for a number of non-marine groups. Philanthropy grants in 2019 and 2021 covered more important gaps across the whole group. Further work remains to complete the linking of unaccepted names, original descriptions, and environmental information. Once these tasks are completed, the database will be considered complete for 8 of the 13 priorities, and efforts will continue to input new taxa annually and focus on the remaining priorities, particularly the input of type localities. We give an overview of the current status of the order Amphipoda, providing counts of the number of genera and species within each family belonging to the six suborders currently recognized

DEEPEND Project: Sponge Identification Project Workshop Report. 4th - 8th March 2024.

The DEEPEND project is a collaborative effort to study the societal value of biodiversity in the deep-sea. Marine organisms are a promising resource for useful natural products such as medicines. The potential use of biodiversity - or marine genetic resources (MGR) - has yet to be thoroughly explored in the deep sea. These organisms offer the exciting potential discovery of new gene clusters that direct the formation of enzymes and small molecules. These could have useful biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications, including the discovery of novel antibiotics, coming at a time when society faces an antimicrobial resistance crisis. Marine sponges are known to be important sources of novel natural products, yet the identification of sponge taxa (many of which are new to science) requires specialist taxonomic expertise. DEEPEND was initiated in 2022 with an 8-month pilot project with an extension to the project being granted for a further 12 months, bringing the project to a close on the 31st of March 2024. As part of the extension funding, it was recognised that the team lacked expertise in sponge identification, despite this taxon being of utmost importance in biodiscovery. This workshop aims to go some way towards remedying this by providing some trusted identifications for taxa currently under study, and improving the identification of abyssal sponge taxa currently held in the Discovery Collections at NOC, which largely originate from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, Whittard Canyon, Mid Atlantic Ridge and Haig Fras areas in the North Atlantic, and also selected specimens from the Central Pacific in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (SMARTEX Project)

The World Amphipoda Database: history and progress

(IF 0.4; Q4)We provide an overview of the World Amphipoda Database (WAD), a global species database that is part of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Launched in 2013, the database contains entries for over 10,500 accepted species names. Edited currently by 31 amphipod taxonomists, following WoRMS priorities, the WAD has at least one editor per major group. All accepted species are checked by the editors, as is the authorship available for all of the names. The higher classification is documented for every species and a type species is recorded for every genus name. This constitutes five of the 13 priorities for completion, set by WoRMS. In 2015, five LifeWatch grants were allocated for WAD activities. These included a general training workshop in 2016, together with data input for the superfamily Lysianassoidea and for a number of non-marine groups. Philanthropy grants in 2019 and 2021 covered more important gaps across the whole group. Further work remains to complete the linking of unaccepted names, original descriptions, and environmental information. Once these tasks are completed, the database will be considered complete for 8 of the 13 priorities, and efforts will continue to input new taxa annually and focus on the remaining priorities, particularly the input of type localities. We give an overview of the current status of the order Amphipoda, providing counts of the number of genera and species within each family belonging to the six suborders currently recognized