The launch ceremony of Aquatic Diversity and Ecology (ADE) at the Fourth Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecology Forum in Wuhan. (Credit: IHB)

More than 300 researchers, faculty members, and graduate students gathered in Wuhan on 14–15 July for the Fourth Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecology Forum. Co-hosted by the Hubei Society of Zoology and the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the meeting also served as the launchpad for Aquatic Diversity and Ecology (ADE), a new open-access journal focusing on aquatic biodiversity and ecology.

Under the theme “Intelligent Stewardship of Aquatic Resources for Harmonious Coexistence,” the forum featured a dual-chairmanship by academicians GUI Jianfang and HE Shunping, with additional senior academicians SONG Weibo and JIANG Guibin in attendance. The two-day programme was structured around four thematic pillars - environmental toxicology, genetic breeding, marine conservation, and immunological disease control.

The opening ceremony was chaired by IHB deputy director XIE Shouqi. IHB director MIAO Wei and ADE Editor-in-Chief Martin Johann Kainz delivered remarks, followed by the official launch of the journal. “The debut of ADE marks yet another occasion for China’s aquatic biology community to make its voice heard internationally, and the journal will serve as a long-term vehicle for the global dissemination of original research in the field,” said Miao in his address.

The plenary session, chaired by IHB deputy directors XIE Shouqi and XU Jun, delivered a cross-section of cutting-edge work. Academician JIANG Guibin from the Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences at CAS spoke on emerging contaminants, Academician GUI Jianfang from IHB on fish breeding advances, LI Songhai from the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering at CAS on marine mammal conservation, and XU Zhen from on grass carp reovirus immunity.

Four parallel sessions on the afternoon of 15 July covered evolutionary biodiversity, water ecology and environmental health, eDNA and environmental omics, and smart fisheries with big data.

A “Meet the Editors” session featured IHB’s journals including Water Biology and Security and ADE, while 27 graduate students presented across four research categories, with awards presented at the closing ceremony.

ADE Editor-in-Chief Martin Johann Kainz delivered remarks at the Fourth Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecology Forum in Wuhan. (Credit: IHB)