News & Announcements

On September 2–5, 2025, the NSCMB FEB RAS (hereinafter, Center) and the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS), held the Russian–Chinese Bilateral Workshop “Marine Biology and Biodiversity Science in the 21st Century”. The Workshop became the 7th meeting organized by the Center and the IOCAS within the framework of the scientific and educational cooperation agreement between our institutions (the previous meetings were held in Qingdao in 2007, 2010, 2017, 2023 and in Vladivostok in 2012, 2019).

The scope of the Workshop covered a wide range of marine biodiversity issues: analysis of deep-sea, mesopelagic and coastal fauna and flora; challenges to environment conservation under the conditions of global climate change; current threats to the safety of marine ecosystems and those that may arise in the future; etc.

Within two days, scientists from both countries presented their findings in marine biodiversity research, conducted mainly in the Northwest Pacific, and discussed related issues concerning marine biology and ecology.

On the first day, the Workshop was hosted by the Center. The Director of the Center Prof. Igor Yuryevich Dolmatov, Corresponding Member of RAS, gave a welcoming speech to the Workshop participants. He presented to Chinese colleagues the main achievements of the Center, already implemented and planned major scientific projects.

In his reply speech, Prof. Fan Wang, the Director of the IOCAS, supported the Chinese side’s desire to fully develop scientific ties between our institutions and emphasized that it was a great honor for the Chinese delegation to participate in the regular traditional meeting. One of the well-known Chinese oceanographers presented a report where he told about the comprehensive support provided to the basic research in China. Among the topical areas of cooperation, the following key points for future joint activities were identified: the deep-sea ecosystem research including joint cruises by Russian and Chinese scientists with the use of up-to-date underwater vehicles and the cooperation within the framework of a program to study the climate circulation.

On the following day, a special section was held at the Primorsky Aquarium a branch of the NSCMB FEB RAS, where the participants had the opportunity to fruitfully exchange their opinions and new ideas. Then they were offered a rich cultural program including a marine mammal show and a tour of the Primorsky Aquarium.

A total of 22 foreign representatives took part in the Workshop: from the IOCAS, the Andover Leisure Group, the Dalian Ocean University, the Hengyu Biology, Ruarts (Shanghai) Business and Commercial Consulting Co. Ltd., and the Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute. The Russia’s side was represented by scientists from the Center, the Primorsky Aquarium, the Institute of Oceanography RAS, the A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, etc.

The NSCMB FEB RAS and the IOCAS have a long-term history of successful partnership. In 2006, the first Memorandum of Cooperation was signed, and a Joint Research Laboratory under the auspices of IOCAS was founded in 2023.

On September 2–5, 2025, the NSCMB FEB RAS together with the FEB RAS, the Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity (FSCEATB) FEB RAS, the Far Eastern Federal University, and the Vladivostok Public Foundation for the Development of Genetics (VFDG) held the traditional (already 12th) international symposium entitled “Modern achievements in population, evolutionary and ecological genetics, MAPEEG-2025”.

The Program Organizing Committee of the Symposium consisted of such well-known representatives of the Far Eastern science as Yu.Ph. Kartavtsev (Scientific Head of the Laboratory Molecular of Systematics NSCMB FEB RAS, Prof., Dr. Sci. Biol.), E.I. Bondar (Scientific Head of the Laboratory of Genetics NSCMB FEB RAS, Cand. Sci. Biol.), D.M. Atopkin, and I.N. Sheremetieva (specialists from the FSCEATB FEB RAS).

The symposium brought together about 50 participants who attended it personally. A total of 107 participants (including co-authors) were registered at the event, 34 reports were delivered, and 20 poster papers presented. The scope of the reports and posters covered a wide range of research areas including molecular systematics, evolutionary genetics and genomics, phylogenetics, population and environmental genetics of animals and plants.

The symposium was also joined by 23 foreign participants from China, India, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. The authors from Russia represented such cities as Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Moscow, Irkutsk, Saint-Petersburg, Yakutsk, Yekaterinburg, Birobidzhan, Arkhangelsk, Magadan, Tomsk, Chita, Sevastopol, and Rostov-on-Don.

Thanks to its unique 30-year history of holding meetings in English, with dozens of young scientists and specialists from the RAS and universities of Russia and many foreign countries involved, this event has become an important achievement in the scientific, educational, and public awareness activities of the Center, which is of great importance not only for the Far East but also for all Russian science in general (https://wwwimb.dvo.ru/misc/mapeeg/index.php/en/).

The Organizing Committee is grateful to all guests and partners and looks forward to further cooperation!

Tubeworms and molluscs that get their energy from chemical reactions have been discovered at the bottom of trenches up to 9,533 metres deep in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The findings, reported in Nature, shed new light on the potential for life to exist in extreme environments.

Organisms that live in extreme environments need to adapt to produce energy in different ways. Chemosynthesis-based communities derive their energy from chemical reactions rather than from photosynthesis, which requires sunlight. Such communities can be found in deep sea habitats where chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide and methane seep from the sea floor. Hadal trenches are some of the deepest parts of the ocean but are also largely unexplored.

Xiaotong Peng, Mengran Du, Vladimir Mordukhovich and colleagues report the discovery of flourishing chemosynthetic life deep in hadal trenches, found during an expedition in a human-occupied submersible vehicle. The mission covered more than 2,500 kilometres along the Kuril–Kamchatka and Aleutian Trenches in the northwest Pacific, at depths ranging from 5,800 to 9,533 metres. The communities are dominated by marine tubeworms called siboglinid polychaetes and molluscs called bivalves, which synthesize their energy using hydrogen sulfide and methane seeping out of faults in the tectonic plate. Further analysis suggests that the methane seeping out of the cracks is made by microbial processes in organic matter found in sediments.

The authors suggest that such communities may be more widespread than previously thought, and their findings challenge views about how hadal ecosystems might be supported.

©Nature -  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09317-z

More data about Chinese-Russian expedition: https://www.imb.dvo.ru/index.php/en/news-announcements/2068-the-chinese-russian-expedition-to-study-deep-sea-trench-ecosystems-in-the-northwestern-pacific-ocean-has-ended

A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (NSCMB FEB RAS) is a scientific, environmental, and educational organization.  The main activities of the NSCMB FEB RAS are as follows: Study of the fauna and flora, ecology, and productivity of marine life in the Far Eastern seas and adjacent areas of the Pacific Ocean; Deep-sea exploration of the world’s Oceans; Development of scientific foundations for the conservation, reproduction, and rational use of marine biological resources; Development of scientific foundations and technologies to ensure the biological safety of marine waters and marine products; Research on adaptation, ontogenesis, and evolution of marine organisms; Research in the fields of molecular genetics, biochemistry, and biotechnology of marine organisms; Biomedical research, including marine pharmacology and hyperbaric medicine; Development of scientific foundations and modern technologies for keeping and breeding rare and endangered species of marine organisms; Research in the fields of physiology, neurophysiology, and higher nervous activity of marine mammals; studies of marine animal behavior; Development of technologies for early diagnosis and treatment of diseases of marine animals.

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On July 8, a Russian-Chinese seminar on marine ecology was held at the A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (NSCMB FEB RAS) as part of the Center's cooperation with Tsinghua University (PRC). A delegation from the Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School (SIGS Tsinghua) visited the NSCMB FEB RAS for the first time to discuss scientific and educational cooperation.

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On 28 May, 2025, the Institute of Oceanography (IO), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), Nha Trang, hosted a conference entitled “VAST-FEB RAS joint marine expeditions: Roadmap 2018–2025: Scientific Achievements and Future Prospects”.

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A videoconference focused on Russian-Indian cooperation in marine research was held on April 29, 2025. The online meeting from the Indian side was attended by Mr. Siddarth Gaurav, Consul General at the Consulate General in Vladivostok, and Mr. Anand Kamavisdar, Consul for Science and Technology at the Embassy of India in Moscow. The NSCMB FEB RAS was represented by Dr. Konstantin Lutaenko, Deputy Director for International Relations, Dr. Vladimir Mordukhovich, Deputy Director for Science, and Mrs. Anastasiia Grishina, specialist of the International Cooperation Department.

During the meeting, the parties discussed possible areas of scientific cooperation and expressed mutual interest and confidence in the prospects fruitful cooperation. To date, two Memorandums of Understanding have been signed with the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (Kolkata) and with CSIR - National Institute of Oceanography (Dona Paula, Goa). Both organizations have robust capabilities in marine biology, biodiversity, marine ecology, blue economy, ecosystem dynamics, microbiota, deep sea research and other related fields.

A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology FEB RAS expresses its sincere gratitude to the Consulate General of the Republic of India in Vladivostok and the Embassy of India in Moscow for organizing the event and for their attention to our Center. In July of this year, the Consul for Science and Technology of the Embassy of India in Moscow, Mr. Anand Kamavisdar, is expected to visit Vladivostok and the NSCMB FEB RAS.

Russia and India share a long history of relations, but their potential remains far from exhausted, particularly in the fields of science and technology. With strong support from both governments, there are promising prospects for advancing scientific and technological cooperation to a new level.