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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.

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 wor ...

DarCo is a Biodiversa+ project (2021–2022 joint call “Supporting the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems”) entitled: "The vertical dimension of conservation: a cost-effective plan to incorporate subterranean ecosystems in post-2020 biodiversity and climate change agendas" (read more). Subterranean ecosystems host a broad diversity of specialized and endemic organisms that account for a unique fraction of the global taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity. Furthermore, they deliver crucial ecosystem services. Yet, these out-of-sight ecosystems are systematically overlooked in post-2020 biodiversity and climate change targets.Two main impediments are responsible for this lack of protection. First, subterranean biodiversity patterns remain largely unmapped. Second, we lack a mechanistic understanding of subterranean species' response to human-induced perturbations. The project DarCo aims to map subterranean biodiversity patterns across Europe and develop an explicit plan to incorporate subterranean ecosystems in the European Union (EU) Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. DarCo will gather distribution data, traits, and phylogenies for major subterranean animal groups. These data will serve to predict species responses to human threats and design a plan to protect subterranean biodiversity complementing the current EU network of protected areas (Natura 2000). This Topical Issue, curated by Stefano Mammola and Fabio Stoch, and involving Ana Sofia Reboleira, Melissa Meierhofer, and Tiziana di Lorenzo as guest editors, is designed to collect papers produced by DarCo project collaborators and reserches who wish to enrich the knowledge of European subterranean fauna and contribute to its conservation.

DarCo is a Biodiversa+ project (2021–2022 joint call “Supporting the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems”) entitled: "The vertical dimension of conservation: a cost-effective plan to incorporate subterranean ecosystems in post-2020 biodiversity and climate change agendas" (read more). Subterra ...