17DSBS Travel Award

I am a biological oceanographer and for the last 10 years, I have been working on a group of organisms collectively called micronekton. Micronekton is composed of fish, crustaceans, and squids that range from 2 to 20 cm in size and live in the deep ocean. I was nominated by the United Nations to act as coordinating author to assemble a team of experts to work on the supchapter on seamounts for the 3rd World Ocean Assessment. 

For the first time in my career, I was given the opportunity by the DSBS organizing committee to take part in the symposium as co-chair and as an invited speaker in the “Ecological Impacts of Abrupt Bathymetry” sub-session under the session on “Ecology and Conservation”. During the symposium, I introduced my writing team’s work on “Seamounts and Pinnacles of the Global Ocean”. I focused my talk on my work on seamounts of the Indian Ocean which I studied extensively. My research has questioned some well-known paradigms in seamount research. One of my significant contributions to seamount research, demonstrates how seamounts form distinct “isotopic” barriers in the ocean and how climate change will shift the trophic distribution and resource partitioning of epipelagic and mesopelagic organisms. This research highlights the critical role of seamounts in marine ecosystems and the potential impacts of climate change on these unique habitats.

The opportunity to attend the 17th DSBS symposium was an important career stepping stone since my achievements and contributions to seamount research was recognized at the international level despite my young age. This symposium helped me put myself forward as the micronekton expert from the Indian Ocean. This opportunity enhanced my visibility in the scientific community. My intervention attracted interesting questions from the audience and from researchers who came to discuss with me afterwards. I used this opportunity to network with other researchers and solidified collaborations on research projects and papers within the DOSI network and beyond. The travel award enabled me to participate fully in the symposium and maximize my professional development opportunities.