High-tech LifeWatch observatory unravels marine life in North Sea
LifeWatch Belgium, as a part of the European LifeWatch infrastructure, can be considered as a virtual laboratory for biodiversity research. With the support of Flanders to LifeWatch, VLIZ has a.o. developed a Marine Observatory. It aims to collect scientific data with innovative technology in an automated manner, and to make these data freely available to all potential users. On the one hand, several innovative devices to map phytoplankton (Flow Cytometer) and zooplankton (Video Plankton Recorder) are used during monthly campaigns in the Belgian part of the North Sea. On the other hand, four passive networks register and detect the presence of larger organisms (birds, porpoises, bats and fish) with a minimal human effort.
So many legs, so little time…
MilliBase: Global Diplopod species catalog launched: Check it out now and come back often!
MarineRegions.org launches update register worldwide maritime borders and names
The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) has been investing for more than 10 years in an open source system for making maritime borders available and names underwater locations worldwide: MarineRegions.org. The download of shapefiles (polygons or polylines) and checklists of maritime and underwater locations is free for academic and educational users*. In the latest version of Marine Regions (v10), new treaties were added and the disputes known from the earlier version addressed to us were addressed.
New release: version 10 of the Maritime Boundaries
MarineRegions.org is proud to launch version 10 of the Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase.
Expanding MolluscaBase – welcoming freshwater and terrestrial editors during a WoRMS-LifeWatch workshop
In the week of 5-9 February, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) – host of Aphia, the online platform behind WoRMS and its many subregisters – welcomed Mollusca-experts for 4 days, to expand the content of MolluscaBase with their freshwater and terrestrial representatives and to document species traits.
Nemys: saying goodbye to its chief editor and major plans to move forward
Katja Guilini is passing on her chief editor responsibilities after leading Nemys since 2015. Meanwhile, the register will evolve towards a fully global initiative, soon to include freshwater and terrestrial representatives.
LifeWatch Belgium: from DNA Barcoding for forensics to long-term observations of harbour porpoises
On January 25th-26th 2018, the LifeWatch.be Users & Stakeholders meeting was organized at the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Ostend.
European Marine Biology Symposium 53 - Call for Abstracts
From 17 till 21 September 2018, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and LifeWatch Belgium will be organizing the 53rd edition of the European Marine Biology Symposium (EMBS53) in Ostend, Belgium.