PeerJ and the IABO Hub at WCMB 2026

PeerJ and the IABO Hub are happy to announce that we are continuing our support of the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (WCMB) series by again collaborating with the organizers for the upcoming 7th edition in 2026.

The IABO Hub is the publishing home of the International Association for Biological Oceanography, and is the official publishing partner of the WCMB.

World Conference on Marine Biodiversity

The World Conference on Marine Biodiversity series (WCMB) is conducted tri-annually. The WCMB is a high-level international meeting that focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity. The conference provides a platform for policymakers, scientists, conservationists, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to discuss current and emerging marine biodiversity issues and identify ways to protect and sustainably manage marine ecosystems and their resources.

WCMB 2026

The 7th edition of the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity will be organized in Bruges between November 17th and 20th 2026. The theme of the conference is “The marine biodiversity insights we need, for the ocean we want”. As it will take place a little over halfway through the UN Ocean Decade, it will provide an excellent opportunity to take stock of ongoing actions and initiatives, but also evaluate what still needs to be tackled by the end of the Decade.

The call for session proposals is currently open, with a deadline of 31st March 2025. Each session proposal needs to be linked to one of the conference sub-themes:

Challenges to achieve the UN Ocean Decade goals

Marine biodiversity: it’s all about the base(line)s and trends

Building e-oceans to help us fill our knowledge gaps

Marine biodiversity enthusiasts and stewards for the future: who are they, where do they come from, what are their needs and what drives them?

Challenges, changes and opportunities in marine taxonomic research: from specimens to genes

Science that makes a difference: supporting knowledge-based policies

Taking the pulse of the ocean: measuring our current marine biodiversity knowledge through monitoring networks and programs

Other

For full details, including a description of each of the conference sub-themes, please visit https://www.wcmb2026.org/call-session. Registration for WCMB 2026 will open in January 2026.

About the IABO Hub

The IABO Hub (https://peerj.com/hubs/iabo) features the latest biological oceanography research published by the members of the International Association for Biological Oceanography (IABO), an international non-governmental non-profit organization that seeks to promote the advancement of knowledge of the biology of the sea by providing opportunities for communication between marine biologists.

Abstract submissions to the Hub are assessed by the Hub Editors. Made up of IABO members, the Hub Editors ensure that the research featured in the Hub is of interest to IABO’s members. Approved articles are peer reviewed and published in the Open Access journal PeerJ Life and Environment.

PeerJ and the WCMB

WCMB 2023 – The 2023 edition of the WCMB, the 6th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, was held in Penang, Malaysia, from the 2nd to the 5th of July 2023. Scientists from across the globe discussed and shared their findings on marine biodiversity in relation to the changing climate and conservation. PeerJ supported WCMB 2023 with a Conference Collection based on the conference themes, as well as sponsored four PeerJ Awards for early career researchers.

WCMB 2020 – The 5th WCMB saw delegates from 45 countries attend the 3-day conference, hosted by the University of Auckland. The Conference Collection features articles from selected papers presented at WCMB 2020. PeerJ also produced an extended PDF of the Conference Collection, which also included panel discussions and interviews with PeerJ Award winners

WCMB 2018 – The 4th WCMB took place in Montréal, Canada, with a theme of “Connecting with the living ocean”, underlining the need to replace our current exploitative relationship with the ocean’s living resources with a sustainable connection based on scientific knowledge. PeerJ and PeerJ Preprints produced a Conference Collection including abstracts, posters, presentations and full length articles.