#NameItToSaveIt: join taxonomy recognition initiatives in Europe and the taxonomy session at BEeS

name it to save it

Taxonomy – the science behind the discovery, naming, and classification of species on Earth – lies at the very heart of our knowledge of biodiversity. It connects different biological disciplines, allowing scientists to access and exchange a wealth of information on species and their significance to humanity. It is also the foundation for understanding how to protect these species from extinction, and plan future conservation actions.

With taxonomists providing such a fundamental service, it is not surprising that various organisations seek to recognise their work. As the Taxonomy Recognition Day approaches, we would like to highlight three initiatives:

  • Taxonomy Recognition Day, May 23rd | #NameItToSaveIt:

This annual initiative is organised by the TETTRIs project, and marks the birthday of Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy. TETTRIs is the acronym for “Transforming European Taxonomy through Training, Research and Innovation“, an EU-funded project bringing together 17 of Europe’s leading natural history museum and botanical gardens.

With this initiative, TETTRIs launches a simple but urgent message: over one million species are currently threatened with extinction, many of which still unknown to science. #NameItToSaveIt reminds us that we cannot protect what we can not name.

Last year, the initiative was joined by more than 30 institutions, reaching over 700,000 people worldwide. TETTRIs is inviting the community to join by sharing fascinating species on social media, using the #NameItToSaveIt hashtag, joining relevant events, and connecting with the project’s community: find out how to participate and read the full press release here: https://tettris.eu/2026/04/23/name-it-to-save-it.

  • WoRMS Ten Remarkable New Marine Species on World Taxonomist Appreciation Day (March 19th):

Hosted by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), within LifeWatch Belgium (the Distributed Centre of LifeWatch ERIC), WoRMS is the World Register of Marine Species.

Every year, WoRMS honours the World Taxonomist Appreciation Day by releasing its annual list of the top-ten marine species described by researchers in the previous year.

The top-ten list is just a small highlight of an average of 2,000 new marine species discovered every year by 350 taxonomists contributing WoRMS globally. In 2025 this number even reached 2,600, including over 600 fossil species.

The final decisions reflect the immense diversity of taxonomic groups in the marine environment (including nematodes, isopods, tunicates and polychaetes) and highlight some of the challenges facing the marine environment today. If you are curious about the final candidates, read the full press release here: https://www.marinespecies.org/worms-top-ten/2025/press-release

  • Join the BEeS 2026 contributed session on Taxonomy!

BEeS 2026 (Biodiversity and Ecosystem eScience Conference), is LifeWatch ERIC’s flagship event, bringing together scientists and experts in biodiversity and ecosystem science. This year’s programme is complemented by contributed sessions aligned with LifeWatch ERIC’s Thematic Services Working Groups, focusing on practical methods, workflows, and service-enabled science.

The session on Taxonomy is based on the activities of the corresponding Working Group, addressing reliable naming, linking, and integration of observations and datasets. It focuses on assessing the state of taxonomy-related services, how well they align with community needs, and what priorities should guide further integration and improvement within LifeWatch ERIC. We welcome abstracts submissions by the 15th of May!

To read more about the session and submit your abstract, visit this page: https://www.lifewatch.eu/bees-2026-abstract-submission

Image source: TETTRIs

Animal movement, behaviour, and biologging session at the 7th WCMB.

Animal movement

Animal movement, behaviour, and biologging, is one of LifeWatch ERIC’s Thematic Services Working Groups, networks of Common Facilities and Distributed Centres members, coordinated by the Service Centre.

These WGs implement activities, developments, and physical outcomes of the RI’s Thematic Services in 8 key priority areas (with more to come). Among these, animal tracking is the practice of monitoring and studying animal movements and behaviour in their natural environment from a distance, across spatial and temporal scales, using a suit of tools and technologies.

This practice provides as an advantage the possibility to gather robust data over extended temporal periods and regardless of challenging conditions, with minimal environmental disturbance or interference with the animal behaviour. What makes animal tracking a priority area for LifeWatch ERIC, is the fact that it can offer information about the biology and ecology of organisms that is crucial to establish conservation framework and regulations, and to make predictions on the animals adaptation to human activities.

Jan Reubens (Flanders Marine Institute), Coordinator of this WG, is co-convening a session with Pieterjan Verhelst (Research Institute for Nature and Forest) in occasion of the 7th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (Bruges, Belgium, 17-20 November 2026).

The Animal movement, behaviour, and biologging panel collects works that offer practical examples and insights on tracking fish with acoustic transmitters, following bird migrations with GPS tags, assessing wildlife presence with camera traps, monitoring presence of marine mammals with passive acoustics, and more.

The session (see 7.3 on this page) falls under the scope of Theme 7 of the conference (together with other five ones). The theme, titled Taking the pulse of the ocean: measuring the current marine biodiversity state and how it impacts us, is open to monitoring programs, networks and activities, to share history, progress, status and lessons learnt. Particular attention is given to the impact of these works on the knowledge of the marine environment, and to data interoperability.

Follow the updates on the programme and read more on the 7th WCMB page: https://www.wcmb2026.org/7-Taking-the-pulse-of-the-ocean-measuring-the-current-marine-biodiversity-state-and-how-it-impacts-us.

WoRMS and AlgaeBase: a story of collaboration supporting algal taxonomic research

Taxon match

WoRMS (https://www.marinespecies.org) the World Register of Marine Species supported by LifeWatch Belgium, and AlgaeBase have been collaborating since 2013. Recently, their collaboration has led to a new result: building on the widely used WoRMS taxon-match tool, a dedicated version developed for AlgaeBase has been made available through the LifeWatch Belgium eLab.

AlgaeBase (https://www.algaebase.org) is a database of algae information, including terrestrial, marine and freshwater algae and seagrasses. It was funded in 1996 by the Irish Higher Education Authority’s Programme for Research in Third-level Institutions, and has been maintained since then – mainly through private funds – in support of taxonomic studies. Currently, the database contains over 183,200 species and infraspecific names, supplemented with more than 24,000 images, over 75,000 bibliographic items and more than 611,000 distributional records.

The platform includes several features such as Species Search, Genus Search, Literature Search, and a rich library of images, as well as information about species’ common names, their distribution and more. AlgaeBase also has its own peer-reviewed online journal, Notulae Algarum, as part of its services to the Phycological Community.

Since 2013, thanks to the joint efforts between WoRMS and AlgaeBase, the taxonomic names of marine, freshwater and terrestrial algae have been included in Aphia (WoRMS infrastructure), which allowed WoRMS to further complete its overview of all described marine species.

The synergy and open communication between the two entities has continued, and since 2019 WoRMS has been integrating AlgaeBase content through regular cycles of data harvesting. This mutual collaboration has now led to the creation of AlgaeBase Taxon Match: a dedicated adaptation of the WoRMS taxon-match tool, specifically tailored for AlgaeBase.

As the name suggests, the tool allows the matching of species and infraspecies as part of the LifeWatch Belgium eLab infrastructure, runs directly on AlgaeBase and, importantly, can be combined with other taxon-matching services.

Read more and find out how to access this service on LifeWatch Belgium: https://www.lifewatch.be/news/taxon-match-tool-algaebase-based-worms-taxon-match

WoRMS Top Ten Marine Species of 2025: nominations open!

WoRMS Top Ten Marine Species of 2025 (1)

WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species, opens again the nominations for the Top Ten Marine Species of 2025, with the objective to highlight to the wider public the discovery of numerous new marine species made every year, and the crucial job of taxonomists.

In fact, the release of the list coincides with the World Taxonomist Appreciation Day, 19 March.

The 2024 edition winners spanned the tree of life, from worms to isopods to anglerfish (learn more here: https://www.marinespecies.org/worms-top-ten/2024).

This year, nominations will be collected via this online form: https://form.vliz.be/en/form/worms-top-ten-2025-nomination. In order to be eligible for nomination, the species must have been validly published in 2025, and must be marine, fossils included.

Nominations must include the PDF of the paper in which the species was described, and at least one good image of the species, including copyright and ownership information.

If you have a compelling story, a species with rare or unusual morphology, an interesting name, or that holds particular importance for various reasons (e.g., toxic, dangerous, medical, conservation target), don’t hesitate to submit your nomination by 25 January 2026!

You can find more details here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/call-nominations-worms-top-ten-marine-trkwe/?trackingId=5CllFojTmxmjIRNMiXujgw%3D%3D

Tracking sharks in the North Sea

Tracking sharks

Researchers from the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and the Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) are tagging sharks in the Belgian part of the North Sea to gain insights on their habits. With the support of LifeWatch Belgium and the European Tracking Network (ETN), data gathered through this work might help guide targeted protection and management actions.

By implanting small acoustic transmitters into sharks, researchers are in fact able to track their movements across borders (read this article to see how ETN makes cross-borders science possible). Moreover, they use other techniques such as ultrasound, underwater video systems, and genetics to gain other insights on reproduction, diet, species distribution and more.

So far, they have tagged over 140 typical shark species of the North Sea, like the small-spotted catshark, the starry smooth-hound, and the majestic basking shark.

Despite being top predators, and despite their crucial role in keeping the ecosystem healthy, these species are highly vulnerable due to their slow growth and low reproductive rate. Monitoring them doesn’t only provide information about their health and habits: their presence is also an important indicator of good marine biodiversity in the area.

Read the full article on LifeWatch Belgium and find out the recents results of these studies: https://www.lifewatch.be/news/tracking-sharks-north-sea-better-protection-and-management

“Fish Don’t Know Borders”: how LifeWatch Belgium’s ETN connects research across Europe

ETN

LifeWatch Belgium connects researchers in the field of acoustic telemetry through a collaborative network called ETN (The European Tracking Network). ETN allows them to share the outputs of acoustic receivers and follow animal movements from the rivers to the seas, drawing important insights on how marine life links ecosystems in European waters.

This network, initially including just a few receivers along the Belgian coast, is now one of Europe’s largest monitoring systems, involving more than 600 European researchers who track fish and other aquatic species in order to study their migration, and their movement across borders.

Although the Permanent Belgian Acoustic Received Network receives signals from tagged freshwater, marine, and diadromous fish species in Belgian waters, it shares data through the ETN’s open platform to ensure they are available for researchers all over Europe.

In fact, during their lifespan, fish move between estuaries, coasts, and open seas, regardless of political borders set by humans! Shouldn’t science be able to cross those borders too?

Read the full article on LifeWatch Belgium: https://www.lifewatch.be/news/fish-dont-know-borders-tracking-aquatic-life-across-europe

Underwater marine sounds from the Belgian part of the North Sea: meet SoundLib

SoundLib

The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), has launched SoundLib, its Marine Sound Library collecting underwater sound data from the Belgian part of the North Sea. The open database counts thousands of recordings and advanced analysis tools, and provides new insights into the region’s highly dynamic and complex acoustic environment.

These data could support scientists, policymakers and the public in understanding how natural and human-made sounds affect marine ecosystems and even create new opportunities for AI-driven research. The database also contributed to the Waves of Resonance artistic project in June (https://www.lifewatch.eu/2025/09/25/waves-of-resonance), that explores the psychological impact of climate change and the therapeutic potential of ocean sounds.

Sound in water travels farther, and faster than outside, and for many marine animals it is the primary way to communicate, navigate, and interact with their environment. The European policy context, for this reason, considers it as a critical environmental parameter and includes it among the eleven descriptors for the assessment of Good Environmental Status of marine waters.

Marine sounds include natural sources, such as rainfall, waves, sediment transport and noises originated by the marine fauna, and human sources, such as ship traffic, seismic surveys and offshore energy production.

Learn more about SouldLib on the LifeWatch Belgium website: https://www.lifewatch.be/news/soundlib-marine-sound-library-belgian-part-north-sea

The psychological impact of marine sounds: meet Waves of Resonance

Waves of Resonance

In June 2025, the European Marine Board launched the sound project “Waves of Resonance”, with the artist Elise Guillaume and her scientific collaborators: Clea Parcerisas (LifeWatch Belgium) and Marine Severin (VLIZ). The Belgian artist works on the interactions between psychology, ecology and notions of care. With Waves of Resonance she explores the psychological impact of climate change and the therapeutic potential of ocean sounds.

The project started during the EMBracing the Ocean artist-in-residence programme under the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development: a unique idea combining a wide range of different sounds, such as singing whales and cracking sea ice, fish and crustaceans, human activities like ship engines and pile-driving, dolphins, seabirds and many others. It also includes sounds normally inaudible to the human ear, with the results of having multi-layered sound installations that aim to strengthen emotional connection to the ocean.

LifeWatch Belgium has played a key role in the project, providing the underwater sound data from its observatory in the Belgian part of the North Sea.

Waves of Resonance also addresses the critical issue of sound pollution and aims to inspire pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. Throughout the project, Elise also documented the coastal landscape and the scientific recording processes, developing her photographs with seaweed as a low-toxicity alternative.

Find out more on this project: https://www.lifewatch.be/news/waves-resonance-artistic-journey-lifewatch-belgiums-ocean-data

Picture: Acoustic equipment being retrieved with VLIZ acoustic team, North Sea, 2024 © John Janssens & Elise Guillaume

NELOS divers will now access WoRMS from their digital dive log

NELOS divers

NELOS, the Flemish diving federation, has recently integrated WoRMS (the World Register of Marine Species, supported by LifeWatch Belgium), into its internal platform DIVES: a Digital Verification System used to log tens of thousands of dives each year.

This integration marks a very important achievement, because divers will now be able to record the marine species that they come across during their observations, in direct connection with the WoRMS database!

The WoRMS database provides an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms, controlled by taxonomic and thematic experts and continuously updated. Its editorial management system, in fact, includes one expert for each taxonomic group, who controls the quality of each entry. The editors can also invite specialists of smaller groups to revise specific species.

An interesting characteristic of the new integration with DIVES, is that the platform adapts to common marine species names used in Dutch, and through a built-in search function, it automatically provides the scientifically correct version of the name.

This integration has a great potential to support future research by becoming a valuable data source, supporting citizen science and marine biodiversity through simple digital tools.

Read more about this on LifeWatch Belgium:

https://www.lifewatch.be/news/nelos-divers-use-worms-digital-dive-log-step-toward-citizen-science

Weever fish sevenfold increase reported by SeaWatch-B might be linked to warmer waters

weever fish

SeaWatch-B (https://www.vliz.be/projects/seawatch-b), the VLIZ citizen science project supported by LifeWatch Belgium, has observed that the weever fish counts were seven times higher this year, compared to the same period of time (April to June) of 2024. This venomous species buries itself in the sand and stings through its dorsal or gill-cover spines, and its surge along the Belgian North Sea coast seems linked to warmer waters.

The aim of the SeaWatch-B beach observation network is to address the lack of reliable long-term data that allow to identify trends in the ever changing landscape of the North Sea. In fact, during the last 50 years, the North Sea has noticeably changed, warming twice as fast as the global average for ocean and seas.

This fast change has affected especially cold-water species, causing an increase in animals and plants originating from the Atlantic Ocean or further south. Through the description and evaluation of the long-term evolution of this shifts, SeaWatch-B can provide science with the necessary data to inform and advise policy.

Trained volunteers have been conducting standardised surveys along various costal transects, four times a year since 2024, to provide data on beach usage, marine life, sea temperatures, pollution and early dune formation, and they will issue a report in 2026.

Read more about the weever fish increase on the LifeWatch Belgium website: https://www.lifewatch.be/news/sevenfold-increase-stinging-weever-fish-observed-seawatch-b