The 17 Deep-Sea Biology Symposium took place at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China. From January 12 to January 17, 2025, experts on deep-sea ecology and biology meet to discuss the new discoveries in these remote ecosystems. Among the large international audience and speakers (more than 400 attendances), several members of the REDRESS Consortium (UNIVPM, SZN, UEDIN, UAveiro, UAz & Okeanos, REVOCEAN, NOC and DSBS) participated to present the challenge of the restoration of deep-sea ecosystems. The symposium included 28 parallel sessions covering the 11 topics of the deep sea: Biodiversity, Microbiome, Symbiosis, Deep Pelagic Ocean, Sensory Biology, Genomics and Metagenomics of Metazoans, Ecology and Conservation, Climate Change and Human Impacts, Novel Methods and Practices, Arts and Science in Deep-Sea Environmental Management, Decade for Ocean Science Program Highlights. All sessions were held by eleven international keynote speakers:
- Malcolm Clark (New Zealand): Balancing Exploitation and Conservation in the Deep Sea: Challenges for Science;
- Ana Colaco (Portugal): Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems: Key Players for the Planet Health;
- Roberto Danovaro (Italy): New Frontiers in Deep-Sea Biological Research;
- Lisa Levin (USA): Deep Sea Biodiversity Under Climate Change: Contributions, Vulnerabilities and Conservation;
- Jiabiao Li (China): Exploring Deep-sea Typical Habitats for achieving sustainable development;
- Jianwen Qiu (China): Cold-Seep Fauna in the South China Sea: Composition and Biogeography
- J Murray Roberts (UK): Cold-Water Coral’ Habitats: Emblem in Deep-Sea Biology and Driver of Marine Policy
- Ken Takai (Japan): Microbial Ecosystem in Deep-Sea Hydrothermal
- Andreas Teske (USA): The Hydrothermal Sediments of Guaymas Basin: A Frontier of Microbial Discovery
- Fengping Wang (China): Global subseafloor ecosystem and sustainability
The last day of the meeting hosted two keynote speakers from the REDRESS consortium: Prof Murray Roberts (UEDIN) opened the morning session with a talk on “Cold-Water Coral’ Habitats: Emblem in Deep-Sea Biology and Driver of Marine Policy” and Prof Roberto Danovaro (UNIVPM), coordinator of the REDRESS project, opened the last afternoon session of the symposium. Among the “New frontiers in deep-sea biological research”, Prof Danovaro listed ecosystem restoration. The overview of the REDRESS project showed the feasibility of restoring deep-sea ecosystems using new and cost-effective technologies to support successful results. The DSBS symposium hosted a poster session with more than 160. The REDRESS project was at the P7-8 site. The REDRESS project had stimulated major questions and curiosity on the protocols and approaches used to restore degraded deep-sea habitats and the technologies used for the monitoring of success.
