Forum for Science, Doubt & Art
GUM

Forum for Science, Doubt & Art

The GUM (Ghent University Museum & Botanical Garden) is the first officially recognized university museum in Flanders. Located in the heart of the University’s Botanical Garden, a green gem in the city of Ghent, the museum and garden form a unified entity. Together, the GUM and the Botanical Garden...

Ocean Census' search for 100,000 new species will boost WoRMS
Ocean Census

Ocean Census' search for 100,000 new species will boost WoRMS

A new Ocean Census plans major expeditions in all corners of the ocean over the next 10 years, aiming to discover 100,000 new species.  In time, the new species will also boost the World Marine Species Register (WoRMS).
SeaWatch-B citizen science data confirm climate change
SeaWatch-B

SeaWatch-B citizen science data confirm climate change

The first report "What is the state of the North Sea?" by the LifeWatch citizen science project SeaWatch-B shows that the Belgian North Sea is affected by human activities, more in particular climate change. Cold-water species such as the North Sea shrimp are decreasing in number compared to a...

Patterns in nature: WoRMS images in a unique design book
shell pattern

Patterns in nature: WoRMS images in a unique design book

The book Coding, Shaping, Making combines inspiration from architecture, mathematics, biology, chemistry, and other fields to look towards the future of architecture, design and art. It presents ongoing experiments in the search for fundamental principles of form and form-making. This enables us to...

WoRMS press release: Ten remarkable new marine species from 2023
WoRMS press release: Ten remarkable new marine species from 2023

WoRMS press release: Ten remarkable new marine species from 2023

As for previous years, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) has again released its annual list of the top-ten marine species described by researchers during the past year to coincide with World Taxonomist Appreciation Day on March 19th!
New release of the Bio-Oracle dataset v3
New release of the Bio-Oracle dataset v3

New release of the Bio-Oracle dataset v3

Bio-Oracle provides environmental data of the world ocean for present and future climate change scenarios. These data are mainly used by Lifewatch users to link biodiversity occurrence data to environmental conditions and predict the future distribution of marine species. The new version offers increased spatial and temporal resolution.
WoRMS featured in Blue Planet II
BluePlanetII_showtile

WoRMS featured in Blue Planet II

"Covering almost three-quarters of the Earth's surface, the world’s great oceans are home to an incredibly diverse web of life. The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) currently lists just under a quarter of a million species, with new ones being identified all the time. But even as we begin to...

The Big Seashell Survey
Shells

The Big Seashell Survey

Before the Big Seashell Survey started, there was little quantitative information on the species and numbers of shells that wash ashore at the Belgian coast. However, beached shells can say a great deal about climate change, environmental pollution, impact of human activities at sea and changes in...