Baltic tellin most common bivalve at the fourth Belgian Big Seashell Survey
Oostende (2021.03.17) - The Big Seashell Survey 2021 - a unique citizen science initiative on Belgian beaches that took place last Sunday 14 March - was a top edition! The Baltic tellin accounted for almost 30% of all shells found, followed by the cut trough shell (23%) and the common cockle (19%). Two-thirds of all Baltic tellins was found as whole shells, composed of two hinged parts of valves, indicating a recent death, possibly due to the stormy conditions during the past weeks.
WoRMS Philanthropy grants 2020
During 2020, the VLIZ Philanthropy program was able to issue four grants to support WoRMS editors, in making WoRMS more complete. Together, these four grants resulted in about 10.000 edits and additions to WoRMS.
Naming animals in images – a new guide to the process
“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name” (Confucius) … but sometimes, giving a name to something is easier said than done...
Life in the North Sea is becoming more exotic
79 alien marine & brackish water animals and algae from the Belgian part of the North Sea and the Scheldt Estuary not only documented in a book, but also accessible through the LifeWatch Species Information Backbone.
LifeWatch to the (data) rescue: More than 90 historical datasets available!
Collected once, ready to be used many times!
Call for nominations for the WoRMS Top-Ten Marine Species of 2020
Although it has been a difficult year for everyone, we know that taxonomists have continued to publish many wonderful new species throughout. So as we approach the end of the year it is time to think about nominations for The WoRMS Top Ten Marine Species of 2020!
The migratory fish need our help!
Who still remembers that wild Atlantic salmon was once a local product, caught in the Scheldt, IJzer or Maas rivers?
Use your gaming skills to save the eel!
Pieterjan Verhelst, a biotelemetry scientist and frequent user of the Belgian LifeWatch infrastructure developed a game “Save the eel”, to inform the general public about the obstacles eels face during their seaward migration.