Swimming with the tide: migration behaviour of European silver eel in the Schelde Estuary.

The Belgian acoustic tracking network in the Schelde Estuary reveals for the first time that silver European eels use selective tidal stream transport to migrate in a bioenergetic efficient way to the sea for spawning.

European Marine Board calls for more coherent biological ocean observations in Europe

The latest Future Science Letter No. 3 from the European Marine Board (EMB) - entitled "Strengthening Europe's Capability in Biological Ocean Observations" - reflects the vision of a strategic pan-European forum on the current (and future) capacity and relevance of biological observations in the European seas. In contrast to chemical and physical observations, observation networks on biological parameters in Europe do not appear to be highly organized. There is often a lack of coordination between measurement systems and observations can not be integrated optimally. A multifunctional, well-integrated biological ocean observation system will strongly promote the biological knowledge of seas and oceans - in Europe and worldwide. Something of great importance for maintaining a healthy ocean for a healthy society.

DiatomBase Portal launched!

After more than 2 years of preparations, the DiatomBase portal is now officially launched.

European seabass as test case in innovative acoustic telemetry research

The European seabass is a highly tasted species, loved by sea anglers. Since 2010, this predatory fish suffers from a decline in the southern North Sea. To support the restoration policy, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) is starting this summer to following seabass with so-called 'combination transmitters'. Special about these transmitters is that they not only register the presence of the fish, but also carry out continuous measurements of water depth and temperature. VLIZ calls on fishermen and beachcombers to keep track of found transmitters and to report them via info@lifewatch.be.

Talitraits: Feeding the Talitridae species in WoRMS with a variety of ecological information

Last week - on May 30 and 31st – 8 thematic experts on Talitridae came together for the first time during a LifeWatch-WoRMS sponsored workshop. The workshop took place at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research in Crete, where it was organized back-to-back with the 8th International Sandy Beaches Symposium (ISBS). The group focused on identifying relevant traits for the Talitridae, and adding this data through the Amphipoda Species Database.

WRiMS: reporting introduced species in WoRMS 2.0

On 23 April 2018, a number of editors of the World Register of Introduced Species (WRiMS) started a three day workshop in the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). These three days were used to evaluate, complete and improve the content of this WoRMS thematic register (TSD).

Early Career & Achievement Award granted to François Le Coze and Geoff Read

The 2nd WoRMS Early Career Researchers and 3rd WoRMS Achievement Award were granted respectively to François Le Coze and Geoff Read. Congratulations!

LifeWatch Data Archaeology Workshop: Analysis of historical data on bycatch in shrimp fisheries along the Belgian Coast

On the 8th of May 2018, nine experts met at the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Ostend to explore what type of information is hidden in a century of historical data on bycatch in shrimp fisheries.

WoRMS press release: Celebrating a Decade of the World Register of Marine Species

In 2018, to celebrate a decade of WoRMS' existence, it was decided to compile a list of our top marine species, both for 2017 and for the previous decade.

Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of WoRMS with another publication: general insights and experiences from the DMT

Earlier today, PLoS One published a new Open Access paper in their WoRMS collection, entitled ‘A decade of the World Register of Marine Species – general insights and experiences from the Data Management Team’. The paper was written on occasion of the 10-year celebration of WoRMS, to highlight what WoRMS has been able to accomplish in the last decade and where we wish to go in the future …