Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance (SOSA)

We’re Hiring! Are you a student with a passion for sharing stories about ocean animals? Do you have graphic design skills and experience using the Adobe Creative Suite? The engagement team is looking for a student assistant to support their efforts in building fascination and value for marine invertebrate species! Could this be you? Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/e8JM2AEv Alica Torkov, PhD Carly Rospert

How do you catch the attention of 2,634 isopods? Use the inner-net! Okay, we know, a terrible joke. BUT, a recent article co-authored by Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung researchers describes how, through deploying small plankton nets – called “inner nets” – on a recent expedition in the Northwest Pacific, scientists were able to capture over 2,500 isopod specimens! These isopods represent a diverse population, belonging to 14 different families. Read more about the “inner net” technique and the many crustaceans caught on the Hakuho Maru expedition: https://lnkd.in/eNjvABEQ Andreas Kelch Henry Knauber #OceanResearch #MarineResearch #Isopod #Biodiversity #NewPaper Photos: Brandt, A. et al. (2024), CCbySA-4 (see link above)

New Species Alert! Introducing a new member of the isopod family Acanthaspidiidae: 𝙈𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨. The discovery of this small isopod is making big waves, as it belongs to an extremely rare family and genus. What’s even more incredible is that this new species was found in Mediterranean waters - the first representative discovered there from both its genus and family! Because the Mediterranean is a place of extreme faunal shifts at the moment and this is the only specimen of this species found, scientists are unaware if the species still lives there. Since this group of isopods are so rare, the genus, 𝙈𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙚, is only very vaguely described. The discovery of this species and its description have also improved our understanding of the genus as a whole! Learn more about this exciting new isopod in the recently published article - co-authored by SOSA co-founder Torben Riehl and his former BSc student, Katharina Schienbein: https://lnkd.in/gkheRctp #NewSpecies #isopod #marineinvertebrate #OceanResearch #MarineResearch #Taxonomy

SOSA co-founder and ocean explorer, Dr. Torben Riehl presented at the Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz (Academy of Sciences and Literature). Dr. Riehl emphasized the challenges currently facing marine biodiversity and shared the SOSA model as a solution to describe more ocean species before they become extinct. SOSA’s unique approach is three-fold: Discover, Protect, and Inspire. To accelerate discovery, SOSA is developing the globally first taxonomy service and building a global expertise network. To increase protection, SOSA is building capacity to assess the extinction risk of marine invertebrate species and includes them on the IUCN Red List. To inspire action, SOSA is increasing awareness and value of marine invertebrates with the public. Learn more about SOSA here: https://lnkd.in/eSSPaa6w

Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung is looking for a Collection Scientist and Curator of Marine Invertebrates! Join the Senckenberg team (and work closely with SOSA!) as you oversee the scientific collections of marine invertebrates like sponges and corals! Find out more and apply by MAY 30th here: https://lnkd.in/eQ3UHyms

Have you ever wondered how some animals evolved from living in water to living on land? What about how some animals obtained the ability to glow? Or if similar (and not so similar) looking species are closely related? These are the types of questions that researchers are hoping to better understand through genome sequencing. Complete genome sequencing is a technique that determines the entirety of a DNA sequence of an organism's genome. It’s also the much-coveted prize of the annual International Mollusc of the Year competition! The International Mollusc of the Year competition is a collaboration between LOEWE TBG, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, and Unitas Malacologica, aimed at celebrating the incredible diversity and inspiring fascination for all worldwide molluscs. It also makes complete genome sequencing accessible for one very lucky species. Every year, researchers and mollusc enthusiasts from all around the globe nominate mollusc species to compete for the genome sequencing prize. Five mollusc competitors were selected from over 50 nominees to participate in this year's competition. Each of these creature competitors comes equipped with unique features and charismatic characteristics, but most exciting is the secrets that could be potentially unlocked through genome sequencing! Check out this year's competitors below! Click the link to learn some fascinating facts about each of the nominees and discover what could be learned through genomic sequencing of each species. And after you’ve decided which magnificent mollusc is your favorite, make sure you VOTE! Hurry, voting ends April 14th! https://lnkd.in/gRcHF-4p

Today is International Women’s Day and we are celebrating the incredible contributions of women to the SOSA project! Their dedication, creativity, and expertise have been instrumental in our work to discover, protect, and build awareness for marine invertebrates. Whether it’s setting the strategy, perfecting taxonomic techniques, coordinating the listing of marine animals on the Red List, or making sure our website is up and running, women are truly at the forefront of SOSA’s work. Here's to the inspiring women who continue to shape our project and impact the world! Julia Sigwart Julia Silva Beneti Carly Rospert Alica Torkov, PhD Ruth Wasmund #WomenPower #WomensDay #womeninscience

Yesterday, students from the Wiesbaden Business School presented their ideas for taking SOSA’s communication efforts to the next level. They impressed us with thorough market analyses, suggestions for clearer narratives, and creative ideas for collaborations. They even made us laugh with imagined audience personas and sample TikTok videos! We want to say a big thank you to Prof. Dennis Albert and all the students who presented their ideas. We so appreciate your efforts, especially the fun and creativity you infused into your marketing pitches, and are looking forward to integrating them into our strategy for this year. So, if you see a little more innovation or imagination in our communications going forward, you'll know why!

𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴 is a bristled chiton whose taxonomic status has been under question for a while - but not any more! 𝘈. 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴 is a relatively small animal – around 10-20 mm – and lives attached to rocks in shallow waters along the coasts of Norway and Ireland. The tufts along this chiton’s back – 18 groups of bristles – are a distinguishing feature of its genus: 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘢.  But within the genus, distinguishing separate species is much more challenging. Since its description in the 1800's, 𝘈. 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴 has been consistently confused with other NE Atlantic species in this genus and even considered as a non-valid species by many researchers. But SOSA researchers, together with scientists from Ireland and Norway, worked to clear up this species skepticism. Using an integrative taxonomic approach (combining morphological and molecular data), the researchers showed that 𝘈. 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴 is a true species, separated from the very similarly looking 𝘈. 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘢 and 𝘈. 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴 by a set of unique characteristics. SOSA researchers took advantage of new imaging and molecular techniques that enable studying morphological structures in detail and used genetic data as an independent line of evidence to support the species hypothesis. These new techniques are particularly valuable in groups which have limited number of characters to distinguish between the species or in species complexes (group of species which looks very alike). Check out this research and find updated descriptions of all three of the chiton species in this paper: https://lnkd.in/eFmkhJz9 Images: 1-2: ©Kasia Voncina; 3-4: ©Julia Sigwart

SOSA is looking for a volunteer social media science communicator! This role supports SOSA’s ‘inspire’ work in building awareness and value for marine invertebrate species by helping to: -->research interesting marine invertebrates -->craft compelling species stories to spark curiosity -->design engaging social media posts that contribute to our goals Interested in volunteering with us? Find out more details below. Check out our Instagram to get an idea of what the work would look like: https://lnkd.in/ebxHJ9S7