The DTO-BioFlow project (https://www.lifewatch.eu/dto-bioflow/) is launching its second open call for marine biodiversity monitoring data. The project is dedicated to developing and integrating the biological component of the Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO), including new digital tools and services. Data on biodiversity, and related human and environmental pressures are crucial to understand its current state and how this may change. Protecting and restoring biodiversity is one of three objectives of the Horizon Europe Mission to restore our oceans and waters by 2030, enabling the EU to reach its Green Deal and Biodiversity 2030 targets. Identified as one of the Mission “enablers”, the EU will build on “a digital knowledge system” to include a Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO) allowing simulation of ‘what if’ scenarios, advancing ocean knowledge, informing evidence-based policy and offering a range of societal applications. The call invites data holders (international networks, citizen science networks, research institutes, universities, NGOs, etc.), to contribute marine biodiversity data to the European Digital Twin of the Ocean and facilitate sustained and long-term ingestion of previously inaccessible data. Application process Call Launch: December 17th 2024Deadline for applications: February 28th 2025, 23:59 CETApplicants should submit their application through the Open Call webform...

At the end of November, the team of the project Life for Lesser Kestrel - LIFE19 NAT/BG/001017 by Green Balkans, (https://lesserkestrellife.greenbalkans.org/en/) funded by the EU’s LIFE program, participated in the second edition of the Plovdiv Science Festival. The event provided an excellent opportunity to highlight the collaboration with LifeWatch ERIC. Hosted by the Center for Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology (CPSBB) in Plovdiv, the Festival was organised for the second consecutive year by the Beautiful Science Foundation, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science and the Municipality of Plovdiv. Over four days, the festival featured more than 100 presentations, games, exhibitions, demonstrations, experiments, workshops, and educational activities, attracting over 5,000 participants, including school groups, curious youth, visitors of all ages, and residents and guests of Plovdiv. Green Balkans presented the exhibition "The Great Return – 2", featuring scientific illustrations, paintings, graphics, digital images, and mixed media works created by members of the Society of Animalists, Florists, and Scientific Illustrators (DAFNI). Inspired by rare and protected species that are part of conservation and restoration programs in Bulgaria, the exhibition highlighted the connection between art, science, and wildlife conservation. The illustrations allowed thousands of children to enjoy learning about rare...

The 5th RESTORE4Cs General Assembly, held from 19-21 November 2024 in the stunning Camargue region of France, brought together project partners and stakeholders to review progress and shape the future of wetland restoration and conservation across Europe. LifeWatch ERIC played a key role in the event, sharing significant developments in communication, digital tools, and policy outreach. At the assembly, LifeWatch ERIC’s Madeira Scauri, leader of Work Package 8 (Communication, dissemination, and exploitation), provided an update on the second phase of the project’s communication strategy. She revealed the upcoming Camargue Case Pilot teaser and announced the launch of the highly anticipated RESTORE4Cs Serious Game in December 2024. The Serious Game aims to engage a broader audience in wetland restoration through interactive simulations. The General Assembly was also a change for LifeWatch ERIC to introduce plans for a Summer School, designed for policymakers and the scientific community. This initiative will help bridge the gap between science and policy, furthering the project’s educational and outreach goals. LifeWatch ERIC also played a crucial role in promoting cross-project collaboration. Madeira Scauri presented the Sister Projects' joint factsheet, published on the occasion of their joint participation in SERE 2024, as well as a session on cooperation...

On 4-8 November 2024, LifeWatch ERIC attended the Tropical Summit 2024 in Lisbon, being present with a stand in the “Biodiversity and digitalisation” section of the Exhibition Hall.The event was a key opportunity to present our Research Infrastructure to the people stopping at our booth, highlighting its main services and tools, and presenting some demos on Metadata Catalogue and EcoPortal. We also proposed a survey we prepared for the participants, that people can fill as an additional form of engagement. Moreover, LifeWatch ERIC presented the project Marine SABRES, showing the project brochure, and the videos we produced in the framework of the project, with a special focus on the Macaronesia DA, where the climate of the islands varies from subtropical to tropical - a region that for this reason was even more connected to the themes of the conference. Here, the project is focusing on promoting a marine biological corridor between the Azores, Madeira and Canary archipelagos, especially paying attention to the management of migratory species like marine birds, mammals and big pelagic species like tuna. The benefits of ecotourism, and of conservation and restoration actions are also being evaluated. The booth promoted best practices and examples, fostered by the...

The Ghent University Museum (GUM) and Botanical Garden represent an innovative approach to science communication in Flanders and beyond. Located in the heart of Ghent’s Botanical Garden, this institution is the first recognised university museum in Flandres. With a history spanning over 200 years and a collection of more than 400,000 items, the GUM is an example of how universities can bridge the gap between academia and society. As a "Forum for Science, Doubt & Art," the GUM showcases how scientists think and work, encouraging visitors - be they students, researchers, or the general public - to embrace the processes of trial, error, and imagination. Behind the scenes, however, ensuring the scientific accuracy of its exhibits is no small feat. This is where LifeWatch Belgium, through the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), comes into play. The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), managed as part of LifeWatch Belgium’s Species Information Backbone, has been instrumental in preparing the GUM’s permanent collection for public display. Specifically, WoRMS has been used to verify the scientific and common names of species featured in the museum, ensuring that visitors engage with the most accurate and up-to-date taxonomic information available. WoRMS provides an authoritative and...

At the end of September, we received important news from our National Distributed Centre in LifeWatch Belgium: the first ETN datasets from the Permanent Belgian Acoustic Receiver Network are now available via GBIF. The datasets include 507,095 occurrences of 10 fish species from Belgian freshwater, intertidal, and marine habitats.  What does that mean?  LifeWatch Belgium uses innovative tracking technologies to understand fishes’ movement behaviour, and get insights into their migration routes. Through acoustic telemetry, they actively track fish through implanted tags that emit acoustic signals.  The importance of having such data and being able to understand fish routes, can be explained in terms of support to species and habitat conservation, and good fisheries management.  Acoustic telemetry data is managed in the European Tracking Network (ETN) data platform. After a lengthy process of elaboration and standardisation, which began in 2020, INBO and Ghent University have made eight datasets available in Darwin Core format as part of their contribution to LifeWatch Belgium. The datasets in Darwin Core format are now accessible through the Global Diversity Information Facility network (GBIF): an international network and data infrastructure aimed at providing open access data about all types of life on Earth. The next step will...

The RitrainPlus project is organising a Knowledge Exchange Workshop, and a Community of Practice meeting, both taking place this November. RitrainPlus aims to bring together research infrastructures, core facilities, business management schools and European universities, in an innovative collaboration designed to transform the access and empowerment of human resources. European research infrastructures and core facilities will benefit from the RitrainPlus skill-base, helping to drive their professionalisation, efficiency and long-term value creation. Knowledge Exchange Workshop: Organised jointly by ICOS and ACTRIS, the online workshop is dedicated to the management of a portfolio of European projects at 360 degrees.  This event is open to all scientific disciplines, and it is organised in three independent sessions on 14, 15 and 29 November. Participants can register for one or more of the sessions, depending on their interest.  The three sessions will cover essential topics: Session 1 focuses on methods for identifying emerging themes and assessing project portfolios; Session 2 addresses practical strategies for managing multiple projects simultaneously; and Session 3 explores ways to ensure the sustainability and long-term legacy of projects. Please note that space is limited, and registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For details on this workshop, we suggest consulting...

LifeWatch ERIC participated in the EGI Conference 2024, held in Lecce from September 30 to October 4. Co-hosted by EGI and CMCC, the conference took place at the Hilton Garden Inn, located in the same city as our Service Centre. This conference provided an ideal platform for our team to showcase innovative solutions that apply disruptive technologies - such as AI and Blockchain - to ecological research.  LifeWatch ERIC and EGI share a mission to advance scientific understanding across Europe. The collaboration between these two organisations has been consolidated over time through several European Projects. Two of these, EOSC Beyond (https://www.eosc-beyond.eu/) and ENVRI-Hub NEXT (https://www.egi.eu/project/envri-hub-next/), held their annual consortium meetings during the conference.  Our team participated with a dedicated booth, along with demonstrations and presentations. Sara Montinaro and Cristina Mancarella (LifeWatch ERIC Service Centre, Lecce) staffed the exhibition booth throughout the conference, introducing participants to our e-Science infrastructure for biodiversity and ecosystem research. Other members of our Common Facilities offered presentations on the Metadata Catalogue, LifeBlock and NaaVRE: a great chance to explore new opportunities for collaboration. Below is a summary of these presentations. NaaVRE (Notebook-as-a-Virtual Research Environment) Zhiming Zhao (VLIC Technical Manager) and Gabriel Pelouze, (Virtual Research Environment Developer)...

LifeWatch ERIC presented the project Marine SABRES at the European Researchers’ Night, a unique event to meet researchers, learn more about their work and get closer to their world for one night (and beyond). LifeWatch ERIC organised in particular the first Marine SABRES fair, that is, the initiative “Marine SABRES in fairs: biodiversity conservation and restoration, sustainable blue economy and the benefits of ecotourism”. More than 100 people, including enthusiastic children, young people, families and the general public at large, passionate university students and researchers visited our stand and learned more about how to restore marine biodiversity and support a sustainable blue economy by increasing the uptake of ecosystem-based management in Europe (see our photo gallery here). More in detail, during the event LifeWatch ERIC presented results and activities carried out in the framework of the project, with a special focus on this simple socio-ecological system framework designed and developed with the active support and participation of local stakeholders in three European marine regions, where researchers are developing and testing ways to balance varying combinations of conservation priorities and economic activities. The booth promoted best practices and examples, fostered by the project’s approach, of sustainable use of marine resources and...

The Marine SABRES project (https://www.marinesabres.eu/) has designed an online Serious Game School Competition to introduce students to basic concepts of marine biology and coastal ecology, with the objective of increasing awareness on the intricate relationship between humans and the ocean (we also have a podcast available, for those wanting to learn more about biodiversity, human well-being, and climate change). The date selected for the first school competition coincides, fittingly, with the World Fisheries Day, Thursday 21 November 2024. Marine biodiversity loss is continuing unchecked, despite current conservation efforts. Effective conservation measures, that can also enable a sustainable and resilient blue economy, are crucial to reverse this decline. Social-ecological systems-thinking and Ecosystem-Based Management are globally recognised tools that can contribute to this objective. Within this framework, Marine SABRES aims to engage and empower citizens to take action in promoting the importance of marine biodiversity conservation. In this spirit, the Serious Game School Competition is aimed at school teachers who teach natural or societal sciences, English or CLIL, and even citizenship and environmental education. You can find more details on the initiative here. A gaming approach like this one in schools is crucial for raising environmental awareness among young learners. By engaging...

In this update, you can see a snapshot of the most exciting news from LifeWatch Belgium this season. From anniversaries to new scientific milestones, here are the stories you don’t want to miss: 20 years of EurOBIS: the European Ocean Biodiversity Information System (Eurobis), a LifeWatch Belgium service, celebrated its 20th anniversary in grand style, releasing a “super-harvest” of marine biodiversity data. The system counts over 100 datasets, of which 87 new ones, for a total increase of more than 1 million marine species occurrence records that were made available. This follows its 15th-anniversary milestone, and since then, EurOBIS has nearly doubled its collection. The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), hosted within LifeWatch Belgium by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), marked its 15th anniversary only two years ago. This autumn, it celebrates the milestone with the release of an opinion paper titled 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. The paper reflects on WoRMS’ role in global biodiversity data management and highlights the importance of sustained collaboration for improving species data accessibility. It also offers updates on marine species discovery rates,...

On September 27, 2024, LifeWatch ERIC will participate in the European Researchers’ Night, contributing to its programme and engaging with participants, thanks to its research stand. On this occasion, LifeWatch ERIC will present in particular the project Marine SABRES (www.marinesabres.eu), organising the initiative “Marine SABRES in fairs: biodiversity conservation and restoration, sustainable blue economy and the benefits of ecotourism”. Marine SABRES – Marine Systems Approaches for Biodiversity Resilience and Ecosystem Sustainability, is a research project funded by the European Union that aims to conserve and protect biodiversity by integrating healthy, sustainably-used ecosystems and a resilient blue economy. To make Ecosystem-based Management more achievable and implementable, Marine SABRES is comprehensively studying and analysing marine social-ecological systems to design a new, simpler framework for managing the many activities and pressures on the marine environment. During the event, LifeWatch ERIC will present results and activities carried out in the framework of the project, with a special focus on this simple socio-ecological system framework designed and developed with the active support and participation of local stakeholders in three European marine regions, where researchers are developing and testing ways to balance varying combinations of conservation priorities and economic activities. The booth will promote best practices...

The Niche, the quarterly magazine of the British Ecological Society (BES), released its autumn issue last Monday, 9th of September 2024. The magazine is fully dedicated to science, ecology, and the life of ecologists, through a set of interviews, articles and much more. This autumn, LifeWatch ERIC has been included in the section Your Society, dedicated to community events, special Interest Groups, relevant networks to be aware about, and member stories.  Together with the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), and with the Ecological Continuity Trust (ECT), we are thrilled to be listed as “Friends of the society”, LifeWatch ERIC being the open science European infrastructure on biodiversity and ecosystems. The British Ecological Society is, in fact, the oldest ecological society in the world, established in 1913 and counting over 7,000 members. Our organisation has been selected for the support it offers to the long-term sustainability of Earth’s ecosystems and biodiversity, by enabling research communities to use advanced facilities, services and resources. Research infrastructures are crucial for national, European and international strategies to accelerate scientific advancements. As reported in the article, “Research Infrastructures represent everyday working hubs, assisting the most advanced groups of the scientific community develop new...

After three years of advancing a cultural shift in identifying, linking, integrating, and re-using biodiversity data throughout the research cycle, the BiCIKL project is coming to a close.  One of the key outputs of the BiCIKL project is the Biodiversity Knowledge Hub (BKH). Developed as a one-stop portal for understanding the interconnected landscape of European biodiversity research infrastructures, it acts as a knowledge broker for users who want to navigate and access open and FAIR biodiversity data, guidelines, tools, and services.  Additionally, the BiCIKL project's partners created training materials and detailed instructions to help users make the most of the linked services and access biodiversity data found in published literature. The training resources are divided into three courses to cater to users with different backgrounds and expertise, enabling them to begin with the fundamentals or concentrate on specific modules as required: The Introduction to BKH course presents the BKH portal and helps users understand the functions offered by BKH and its associated data services. The BKH Services course provides an overview of the services available in the BKH, and explains how to use each of them, with each service having its dedicated module, and offering best practices and recommendations for...

The EULAC Energytran project held its first Virtual Thematic Event on 26 and 27 June, titled "Strengthening Europe – Latin America Cooperation in the Energy Transition". The event brought together stakeholders from Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. The participants - around two hundred - included representatives from scientific communities, universities, policymakers, research infrastructures, project managers and private sector actors, alongside the consortium partners. Our Ana Mellado and Maite Irazábal participated to represent LifeWatch ERIC's role in the project. This project addresses common energy challenges between the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean. focusing on improving the sustainability of the energy transition process. The two-day virtual event covered the first two work packages of the Energytran project, about technology and policy innovation. This event is part of a broader effort to promote a sustainable and equitable energy transition in both regions. At the meeting, discussions revolved around five panels: Knowledge Exchange in Scientific Cooperation between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. Challenges and Opportunities in the Energy Sector. Environmental and Social Impact of Renewable Energies. Emerging Technologies for Energy Sustainability. Concentrated Solar Thermal Energy Applications. The event concluded with key takeaways from OEI, CENAT, CSIC, PUC,...