The joint conference of the 26th International Conference on Subterranean Biology and the 6th International Symposium on Anchialine Ecosystems will be held in Cagliari (Italy) for six days full of excitement. From Monday 9th to Friday 13th afternoon, approximately 150 researchers from around the world will gather to share their latest research on subterranean ecosystems and biodiversity. On Saturday 14th, guided trips are organized to visit wonderful subterranean environments: one is a mine full of crystals, the other is the (marine) entrance of a 70 km cave system! To know more, please visit https://www.abcdarkworld.com/icsb-conference/.

We are pleased to announce the opening of a Topical Issue in the journal Subterranean Biology (the ISSB journal), which is related to this exciting joint conference. This Topical Issue aims to create a collection of research and review articles that are presented at joint conferences, either in the form of posters or oral presentations. Everyone can submit a paper to this Topical Issue; however, this paper must be related to research presented at the conference. This Topical Issue therefore covers all research topics discussed at the joint conference (among which are molecular biology, monitoring techniques and protocols, conservation, behavior, and eDNA), and deals with all taxa occurring in subterranean environments around the world.

Submissions are already open, and the suggested deadline for future contributions is no later than March 31, 2025. Articles will be published online immediately after their acceptance; however, we aim to publish the full article collection before summer 2025.

During the conference, the Organizing Committee awards the best contributions of the three students with an APC voucher to publish for free in this Topical Issue.