Call for nominations for the WoRMS Top-Ten Marine Species of 2021
Once again taxonomists have continued to publish many wonderful new species throughout the last year, despite all the challenges post by a global pandemic situation. So as we approach the end of 2021 it is time to think about nominations for The WoRMS Top Ten Marine Species of 2021!
LifeWatch citizen scientists trained in ‘identification of fish from beach waters’
In November, the enthusiastic citizen scientists of the SeaWatch-B beach observation network were offered another opportunity for in-depth training. This time, the focus was on identifying small fish in the beach waters. Recently Seawatch-B is included as a citizen science project within LifeWatch VLIZ.
Catalogue of Life: 20 years of documenting life on Earth
This year, 2021, marks CoL's 20th anniversary and it is a time to celebrate! Milestones include reaching over 2 million accepted species and the completion of the new Catalogue of Life infrastructure.
WoRMS endorsed as a Project Action under the Ocean Decade
Last week, WoRMS received endorsement by the Ocean Decade as a Project Action, entitled “Above and Beyond – Completing the World Register of Marine Species (ABC WoRMS)”.
Coordinating the observation of biodiversity in the sea: a new collaboration
The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) of the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), and the SCAR Antarctic Biodiversity Portal share a common vision on the building and coordination of a global ocean biodiversity observation system. The common goal is to systematically assess the state and trends in the ocean’s biodiversity, including biological resources and ecosystems, and how these will change in the future.
WoRMS is being honored with new genus
For the first time, a genus has been named after WoRMS: Wormsina.
WoRMS press release: Ten remarkable new marine species from 2020
As for previous years, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) has again released the annual list of the top-ten marine species described by researchers during the year 2020 to coincide with World Taxonomist Appreciation day - March 19th!
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.