The octopod fauna of the deep tropical Pacific Ocean remains poorly known, as is the octopod family Megaleledonidae Taki. A single female megaleledonid specimen collected at 1773 m depth near the equatorial Galápagos island of Darwin is named Microeledone galapagensis sp. nov. This small, squat, short-armed octopod has few arm suckers and gill lamellae. Its lack of a crop diverticulum, ink sac, and anal flaps suggests that it pertains to Thaumeledone. However, its smooth skin, which dorsally is nearly free of pigment, large rachidian tooth, and large funnel organ ally it with the monotypic Microeledone. Its reverse countershading and dense pigmentation on the inner dorsal mantle musculature distinguish this species from Microeledone mangoldi Norman, Hochberg & Boucher-Rodoni, 2004a. This species belies the definition of the Megaleledonidae as large-bodied, Southern Ocean endemics, leading us to revise the family diagnosis. The short arms carrying few suckers in this genus and Thaumeledone are hypothesized to relate to heterochrony, potentially increasing energy available for reproduction and contributing to niche partitioning.

Kelp forests are among the most extensive and productive coastal ecosystems, yet they remain underrepresented in global conservation policy despite widespread declines driven by interacting global- (i.e., ocean warming, marine heatwaves) to local-scale stressors. At the same time, kelp conservation and restoration efforts are expanding rapidly across regions, but measures of success and syntheses tend to primarily focus on ecological conditions and trends, not on conservation and restoration actions. To fill this gap, we developed a comparative global dataset of kelp conservation initiatives based on expert-derived regional narratives from 209 participants spanning 35 regions with kelp forests. We applied a structured presence–absence scoring framework across six domains: conservation actions, restoration approaches, governance actors, conservation objectives, social dimensions, and funding structures, supplemented by regional expert knowledge to enable cross-regional comparison. Across regions, conservation was characterised by strong emphasis on monitoring (86

Critical knowledge gaps hamper effective conservation of threatened cold‐water coral (CWC) ecosystems, facing cumulative anthropogenic and climate pressures. This review provides a strategic roadmap for urgent, informed intervention. This review synthesizes global expert consensus to identify and prioritize key knowledge gaps impeding CWC conservation and restoration. Our objective is to provide a strategic roadmap for research, funding, and policy over the next decade. Through literature synthesis and a global expert panel (i.e. the authors), we identified and prioritized critical knowledge gaps in CWC conservation and restoration. Priorities were defined as challenges addressable within a decade through focused international collaboration and funding. We identified 10 knowledge gaps across five themes, including CWC status and distribution, community composition, early life history, metapopulation dynamics and connectivity, growth, and food dynamics. We then provide recommendations for international policy that would support CWC protection. Addressing these research priorities is a prerequisite for effective conservation strategies. A coordinated international effort is crucial over the next decade to translate this knowledge into actionable plans and prevent irreversible biodiversity loss.

A minuscule fraction of the deep sea has been scientifically explored and characterized due to several constraints, including expense, inefficiency, exclusion, and the resulting inequitable access to tools and resources around the world. To meet the demand for understanding the largest biosphere on our planet, we must accelerate the pace and broaden the scope of exploration by adding low-cost, scalable tools to the traditional suite of research assets. Exploration strategies should increasingly employ collaborative, inclusive, and innovative research methods to promote inclusion, accessibility, and equity to ocean discovery globally. Here, we present an important step toward this new paradigm: a collaborative design study on technical capacity needs for equitable deep-sea exploration. The study focuses on opportunities and challenges related to low-cost, scalable tools for deep-sea data collection and artificial intelligence-driven data analysis. It was conducted in partnership with twenty marine professionals worldwide, covering a broad representation of geography, demographics, and domain knowledge within the ocean space. The results of the study include a set of technical requirements for low-cost deep-sea imaging and sensing systems and automated image and data analysis systems. As a result of the study, a camera system called Maka Niu was prototyped and is being field-tested by thirteen interviewees and an online AI-driven video analysis platform is in development. We also identified six categories of open design and implementation questions highlighting participant concerns and potential trade-offs that have not yet been addressed within the scope of the current projects but are identified as important considerations for future work. Finally, we offer recommendations for collaborative design projects related to the deep sea and outline our future work in this space.

Kelps are among the most studied groups of macroalgae globally, as they are large foundation species that form some of the world’s most productive and diverse marine habitats. Yet little is known about diversity and ecology of tropical kelps, which tend to inhabit the more difficult to survey mesophotic zone. Eisenia galapagensis is the first tropical kelp species to be recorded globally, and is an endemic and endangered species to the Galapagos. Here, we reveal the presence of previously unknown off-shore mesophotic kelp populations in the Galapagos, made up by a potentially new Eisenia species for the region, and present phylogenetics and morphological analysis to support our claim. We find that these novel populations form extensive kelp forest habitats with a kelp density of 2.6 ± 1.5 m −2 at depths of 48–67 m, where mean water temperatures are 3–5 ℃ cooler than at the surface (18.1–19.9 ℃). Despite low levels of light and macronutrients (measured in August 2019), observations of juveniles and sori on blades suggests these kelp populations are successfully reproducing and recruiting. Our findings provide information about foundation species and complex marine communities previously unknown to managers of the Galápagos Marine Reserve. They also support the notion that this region is uniquely important for harboring brown macroalgal diversity. Our study highlights critical knowledge gaps on the distribution of primary foundation species in colder mesophotic zones, and how their invisibility from the surface prevents their inclusion in current conservation strategies.

The Galapagos Islands inspired the theory of evolution by means of natural selection; now in the Anthropocene, the Galapagos represent an important natural laboratory to understand ecosystem resilience in the face of climate extremes and enable effective socio-ecological co-evolution under climate change.

The deep sea represents the largest and least explored biome on the planet. Despite the iconic status of the Galapagos Islands and being considered one of the most pristine locations on earth, the deep-sea benthic ecosystems of the archipelago are virtually unexplored in comparison to their shallow-water counterparts. In 2015, we embarked on a multi-disciplinary scientific expedition to conduct the first systematic characterization of deep-sea benthic invertebrate communities of the Galapagos, across a range of habitats. We explored seven sites to depths of over 3,300 m using a two-part Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) system aboard the E/V Nautilus, and collected 90 biological specimens that were preserved and sent to experts around the world for analysis. Of those, 30 taxa were determined to be undescribed and new to science, including members of five new genera (2 sponges and 3 cnidarians). We also systematically analysed image frame grabs from over 85 h of ROV footage to investigate patterns of species diversity and document the presence of a range of underwater communities between depths of 290 and 3,373 m, including cold-water coral communities, extensive glass sponge and octocoral gardens, and soft-sediment faunal communities. This characterization of Galapagos deep-sea benthic invertebrate megafauna across a range of ecosystems represents a first step to study future changes that may result from anthropogenic impacts to the planet's climate and oceans, and informed the creation of fully protected deep-water areas in the Galapagos Marine Reserve that may help preserve these unique communities in our changing planet.

This study reports the first records of cowsharks (Hexanchidae) in the Galapagos Islands, in particularNotorynchus cepedianusandHexanchus griseus,observed between depths of 210 and 418 m on footage from free-falling autonomous deep-ocean cameras. These sightings provide new information on the habitat preferences and range distribution forN. cepedianusand the first records ofH. griseusin Ecuadorian waters. The findings support the formulation of regional conservation strategies for these large apex predator species and highlight the limited biological knowledge of Galapagos' deep-water ecosystems.