Taking the next step: In-situ imaging data through the Video Plankton Recorder
VPR Simon Stevin

Taking the next step: In-situ imaging data through the Video Plankton Recorder

Zooplankton and phytoplankton are essential to coastal ecosystems, playing crucial roles in marine food webs. Environmental changes like climate change and pollution threaten these delicate communities, making monitoring crucial. The Video Plankton Recorder (VPR), integrated with LifeWatch...

EurOBIS celebrates its 20th anniversary with a super-harvest!
20 years EurObis

EurOBIS celebrates its 20th anniversary with a super-harvest!

Over its 20 years’ existence, EurOBIS formed alliances with European initiatives as a supporting infrastructure and network. Major milestones include EurOBIS serving as the data backbone of the European Marine Observations and Data Network Biology (EMODnet Biology) since 2009 and being part of the central Species Information Backbone of LifeWatch since 2014.
Closing the WoRMS 15th anniversary celebrations with an opinion paper
Closing the WoRMS 15th anniversary celebrations with an opinion paper

Closing the WoRMS 15th anniversary celebrations with an opinion paper

In follow-up of the 10th anniversary paper on WoRMS, the Data Management Team is proud to present a paper celebrating the 15th anniversary of WoRMS: "The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) through the looking glass: insights from the Data Management Team in light of the crystal anniversary of WoRMS".
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).
LifeWatch and JERICO-NEXT join forces
plankton collage

LifeWatch and JERICO-NEXT join forces

Though plankton communities are omnipresent in our oceans, their wavering dynamics remain obscure. The international collaboration of the LifeWatch and JERICO-NEXT projects enabled to study plankton in the southern North Sea with state-of-the-art infrastructure at an optimal coverage.

Assessing the state of the oceans
WOA II

Assessing the state of the oceans

The second World Ocean Assessment – WOA II – is a global exercise by hundreds of marine scientists to evaluate trends and identify knowledge gaps in the world ocean. Two chapters of WOA II have made use of several components of the LifeWatch Species Information Backbone.

Observing plankton to understand ocean health
RV Stevin mesh

Observing plankton to understand ocean health

Increasing human activities are putting the ocean under stress, threatening the ecological health of marine ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Since plankton are sensitive to changes in environmental conditions and are short-lived, they can be used as early warning systems for the...

The LifeWatch ERIC BEeS: abstract book, video recordings and more!
The LifeWatch ERIC BEeS: abstract book, video recordings and more!

The LifeWatch ERIC BEeS: abstract book, video recordings and more!

The LifeWatch ERIC family met again, for the first time in four years, at the "BEeS" Biodiversity & Ecosystem eScience Conference. It took place in Seville from 22 - 24 May, on the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity. Explore the abstract book, watch the video of the live-streamed round table, and download the presentations!
The LifeWatch Data Cloud is launched!
The LifeWatch Data Cloud is launched!

The LifeWatch Data Cloud is launched!

This summer the LifeWatch Data Cloud was launched as a user-friendly platform for researchers who are looking for data to perform biodiversity and ecosystem research. In the background, the LifeWatch Data Cloud is using the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC) resources to provide the users with a performant infrastructure. Let’s try it out immediately at https://datacloudmi.lifewatch.be!