Dear WCMB 2023 Community,

It is our pleasure to announce the recipients of the WCMB 2023 Travel Grants for Young Scientists. We received a large number of excellent applications, making the selection process very competitive. After careful review, the following individuals have been awarded travel grants to attend the 6th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, which will be held in Penang, Malaysia:

(A) TRAVEL GRANT AWARDEE SPONSORED BY SCOR FULL TRAVEL GRANT (USD 370 fees + USD 230 Travel Support = USD 600)

1. Mannage Lenin Indirajith De Silva – Sri Lanka
   University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
   Title: Taxonomy of Harmotrema sp. infecting intestine of Hydrophis schistosus, Hydrophis curtus, Hydrophis cyanocinctus and Hydrophis spiralis marine snakes of Sri Lanka.

2. Samson Job Philemon – Tanzania
   School of Aquatic and Fisheries Technology, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
   Title: Ocean acidification impacts on commercially important sea cucumbers of the Indo-Pacific region are understudied.

3. Phurich Boonsanit – Thailand
   Department of Marine Science, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
   Title: The ecophysiological response of the key mangrove crab Episesarma mederi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) to salinity challenges: Implications for conservation physiology and climate change biology.

4. Li Zhen Zhen – China
   Swire Institute of Marine Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong.
   Title: Modulations of thermal plasticity in marine phytoplankton under changing climate.

5. Miftakhul Sefti Raufanda – Indonesia
   Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Indonesia.
   Title: Barnacles analysis as a microplastic pollution bioindicator on the east coast of Surabaya.

6. Ranjana Yadav – India
   Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), India.
   Title: Population dynamics of cerithiid gastropods (Pirenella cingulata) on mudflat and their trematode parasites.

7. Diana Leticia Salcedo Oropeza – Mexico
   Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
   Title: Preliminary Analysis of the Capabilities of Microscopic Fungi of Hydrothermal Vents to Degrade Crude Oil.

(B) TRAVEL GRANT AWARDEE SPONSORED BY SCOR PARTIAL SUPPORT (USD 370 fees + USD 30 Partial Support = USD 400) 

1. Truong Si Hai Trinh
   Institute of Oceanography, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), Vietnam.
   Title: The biodiversity of zooplankton in the upper waters of the coral reef in Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.

 

2. Xin Dang – Hong Kong, China
   The University of Hong Kong, China.
   Title: Transgenerational inheritance of ocean acidification-induced feminization in edible oyster.

(C) TRAVEL GRANT AWARDEE SPONSORED BY WCMB 2023

 

1. Wiphawan Aunkhongthong
   Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University.
   Title: Species diversity and abundance of corals on underwater pinnacles in Ko Samui areas, the western Gulf of Thailand.

 

2. Maybelle A. Fortaleza
   Coral Reef Resiliency and Ecology Studies (CRREST) Laboratory, University of the Philippines Mindanao.
   Title: Overcoming adversities: A cross-institutional collaboration to document the marine shore fish diversity in Davao Gulf, southern Philippines.

(D) FEE WAIVER GRANT AWARDEE

 

1. Shimpei Hiruta
   Showa University, Japan.
   Title:  Phylogenetic position of enigmatic spherical starfish, Podosphaeraster toyoshiomaruae (Asteroidea, Valvatida, Podosphaerasteridae).

2. Goh May Ching
   Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
   Title: Assessing the efficacy of two visual survey methods for coral reef fish assemblages in a turbid coastal system.

3. Alessia Carini
   The SWIRE Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
   Title: China evolution of bivalve shells: A shell proteomics and shell structural point of view.

4. Maria Vigo Fernandez
   Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM), CSIC, Spain.
   Title: Dynamic marine spatial planning for conservation and fisheries benefits.

5. Chan Yi Wynn
   Purdue University Fort Wayne.
   Title: Heavy metal concentrations in sea turtles from Massachusetts and the Mid-Atlantic Bight region, USA.

6. Ernadia Elsie binti Lawrence Jaya
   Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
   Title:  Stomach content analysis reveals insights into the feeding ecology of small cetaceans in Sarawak, Malaysia.

7. Intan Noor Munira Ghazali
   Department of Marine Science, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University.
   Title:  Abundance and characteristics of microplastics in rock oysters from coastal water of mainland Kedah.

8. Bovern Suchart Arromrak
   The Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong.
   Title:  Tropical high shore oyster tolerance to thermal fluctuation is attributed to their rapid physiological adjustment and microbiome stability.

9. Lee Li Keat
   Bachok Marine Research Station, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya.
   Title: The coral-Symbiodiniaceae composition in coral species of turbid and pristine reefs.

10. Heng Wei Khang
    Biodiversity Research Centre, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
    Title: Dramatic decline of coral assemblages at Taiping Island (Itu Aba), Spratlys – do the crown-of-thorns starfish play a part?

11. Mohd Hafiz Bin Abdul Halim
    Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
    Title: Vertical distribution of microplastics in beach sediments of Air Papan Beach, Mersing, Johor.

Congratulations to the successful applicants, and we will be in touch soon with further details regarding the travel grant. We would also like to thank all the applicants for their interest in attending WCMB 2023, and we hope to see you at the conference.

Sincerely,

WCMB 2023 Scientific Committee.