“Marine SABRES in Fairs” returns to FIMAR in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Marine SABBRES in Fairs - FIMAR 2026

From 22 to 24 May 2026, LifeWatch ERIC and ULPGC-ECOAQUA (University Institute for Research in Sustainable Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems) presented the Marine SABRES project at FIMAR 2026 – Feria Internacional del Mar in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, co-organising a new event within the “Marine SABRES in Fairs” series.

Now in its 15th edition, FIMAR attracted more than 14,000 visitors over three days, offering a rich programme including commercial exhibitions, technical sessions, public talks, boat visits, nautical demonstrations, and educational activities for all audiences. Once again the fair confirmed its role as a key reference event for the blue economy in the Canary Islands.

Within this dynamic context, the Marine SABRES booth provided an interactive and engaging space where visitors could explore marine biodiversity, ecosystem conservation and restoration, and the role of research in supporting a sustainable blue economy. From the very beginning, the stand attracted a wide and diverse audience, including school students, families, young people, and curious visitors, all eager to learn more about the ocean and its ecosystems.

Participants had the opportunity to engage directly with the project through visual materials, like the documentary trailers, discussions, and hands-on experiences. One of the highlights was the demonstration of the Marine SABRES Serious Game, which received very positive and enthusiastic feedback from both younger and adult audiences. Designed as an educational tool for classrooms, the game introduces key concepts of marine biology and coastal ecology in an interactive way, sparking curiosity and encouraging learning through play.

Researchers from the ULPGC-ECOAQUA team also showcased the extraordinary biodiversity of Macaronesia, the project’s third Demonstration Area. Through scientific materials and samples, including rhodoliths, key components of valuable marine ecosystems in the Canary Islands, visitors were able to gain a deeper understanding of marine habitats and the importance of their protection and restoration.

Have a look at our photogallery, enjoy all the moments of this incredible event exploring marine biodiversity and ecosystems, sustainability and blue economy!

The next stop of “Marine SABRES in Fairs” will be Iceland, where we will join the celebrations of Fishermen’s Day on 7 June 2026, hosted by the Marine & Freshwater Research Institute. Discover more: https://www.lifewatch.eu/2026/05/29/marine-sabres-in-fairs-joins-fishermens-day-in-iceland/

For more information about the project, visit Marine SABRES official website:
www.marinesabres.eu

BEeS 2026: deadline extended for abstract submission

Deadline Extended - BEeS 2026

Originally set for 15 May 2026, the submission deadline has now been extended to 2 June 2026, offering additional time for researchers and practitioners to prepare and submit their short or long contributed sessions (10 or 15 minutes) within one of the selected topics.

The extended timeline is as follows:

  • Early submission: 15 May 2026 (evaluation by 22 May 2026)
  • Late submission: 2 June 2026

This extension aims to ensure broader participation from the biodiversity and ecosystem research community.

Participants are encouraged to take advantage of this additional time to submit abstracts for contributed presentations and be part of BEeS 2026, taking place from 7 to 10 July in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Submit your abstract here: https://www.lifewatch.eu/bees-2026-abstract-submission.

#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

Marine SABRES in Fairs in Gran Canaria at FIMAR 2026

Marine SABRES Fairs - FIMAR 2026

Marine SABRES in Fairs will make its next stop in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on May 22-24, 2026, where LifeWatch ERIC and ULPGC-ECOAQUA will co-organise a series event at FIMAR 2026 – Feria Internacional del Mar, showcasing the project’s results and resources.

Now in its 15th edition, FIMAR is a well-established regional reference event for professionals in the nautical and marine-maritime sector and a key driver of the Blue Economy in the Canary Islands. This year’s theme, “Outermost Regions and the Sea”, highlights the strategic role of these territories in marine innovation, sustainable development, and Atlantic cooperation. The event is promoted by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and the Port Authority of Las Palmas, and organised by Infecar Feria de Gran Canaria and Ciudad de Mar.

FIMAR offers a rich and diverse programme combining commercial exhibitions, technical sessions, scientific outreach, and educational and recreational activities for all audiences, including families. It provides an important platform for companies and professionals to exchange knowledge and explore new opportunities, while also enabling marine and coastal researchers to raise public awareness about marine ecosystems and environmental protection.

Within this dynamic context, LifeWatch ERIC and ULPGC-ECOAQUA will welcome visitors at their exhibition booth, where participants will be able to discover the Marine SABRES project through posters, brochures, thematic videos, and documentary materials.

Building on its continued success, the latest edition attracted more than 18,000 visitors, including local residents of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, tourists, and participants from across Spain and Europe. This will be an opportunity to interact with experts, explore innovative approaches to marine sustainability, and discover how Marine SABRES contributes to turning knowledge into action.

For more information about the project, please visit Marine SABRES official website: www.marinesabres.eu

Watch our documentary trailers on LifeWatching.tv: https://www.lifewatching.tv/tv-show/marine-sabres/

Marine SABRES School Competition returns for its last edition on 22 May

Marine SABRES School Competition - Final Edition

Marine SABRES is launching the third and final edition of its Serious Game School Competition, inviting secondary schools across Europe to take part in a unique learning experience focused on the ocean. Registration is now open for teachers.

The event will take place on 22 May 2026, in occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity and the European Maritime Day, from 09:00 to 17:00 CEST.

Following the previous edition, which brought together 13 classes from 5 schools across Europe, the competition continues to grow as a space for collaboration between classrooms and researchers.

Over the course of the day, students will explore ways human communities can manage, protect, and benefit from marine ecosystems through an online serious game developed together with a European network of researchers. Classes will move through a series of challenges and quizzes, using the game as a starting point for discussion and learning.

This initiative is designed for teachers of natural and social sciences, English and CLIL, citizenship, and environmental or sustainability education, and supports both lower (10-13) and upper (14-18) secondary students. Only teachers can register and, on the day of the School Competition, they will mentor their students while they play the online serious game.

Now in its final edition, the School Competition marks the closing chapter of the Marine SABRES educational journey: an opportunity for schools to take part in a shared European experience that brings science and sustainability into the classroom in a practical way.

Registration is open until the day of the event. Teachers can sign up their class and join the final edition here: https://zfrmz.eu/HwvUDABMlOFCTr9UY0ch

Harmonising vegetation structure metrics across Europe through Large-scale airborne LiDAR processing

LiDAR

From 11 to 13 March 2026, LifeWatch ERIC was involved in a three-day technical workshop on large-scale airborne LiDAR processing for vegetation structure analysis.

The event was hosted at SustainaLab (University of Amsterdam), and organised by W. Daniel Kissling, Yifang Shi, and Jinhu Wang as part of the EU-funded Mambo Project (Modern Approaches to the Monitoring of BiOdiversity), an initiative that develops remote-sensing and AI-based tools to improve biodiversity monitoring across Europe. LifeWatch ERIC, the Netherlands eScience Center, and SURF contributed their expertise to the event programme.

Over the three days, the event brought together 21 researchers, data scientists, and remote sensing specialists working across ecology, forestry, and Earth observation. LifeWatch ERIC VLIC members Zhiming Zhao, Koen Greuell, and Gabriel Pelouze participated with the presentation “Notebook-as-a-VRE (NaaVRE): a virtual research environment” (Zhiming Zhao) and a hands-on practical session “Laserfarm in NaaVRE” (Gabriel Pelouze, Koen Greuell).

The practical trainings focused on running Laserfarm workflows on HPC infrastructure, using NaaVRE for LiDAR processing, extracting vegetation structure metrics in Google Colab or local Jupyter environments, and delineating individual trees from 3D LiDAR point clouds.

The final discussions explored how to harmonise vegetation structure metrics across Europe, and laid the groundwork for developing a roadmap for large-scale airborne LiDAR processing that supports biodiversity monitoring, forest analysis, and ecosystem research. Participants shared the common goal of moving from local LiDAR processing, to reproducible and scalable workflows.

The event was also an opportunity for LifeWatch ERIC to gather feedback to further improve NaaVRE, especially in terms of scalability, of the ability to customise configurations, support for deep learning models, and overall flexibility and user experience.

To read more about this workshop, visit the official event page: https://www.mambo-project.eu/events/workshop-large-scale-and-scalable-processing-airborne-lidar-vegetation-structure-analysis

Picture from LinkedIn

BEeS 2026: released the Call for Abstracts topics. Join us in Plovdiv!

LifeWatch ERIC Biodiversity and Ecosystem eScience Conference (BEeS) is back. This summer, we have the pleasure of inviting you to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, for a four-day appointment, from 7 to 10 July. LifeWatch Bulgaria, through the Agricultural University-Plovdiv, hosts the third edition of the conference for 2026.

The event will start with a set of Pre-conference workshops on 7 July, while the plenary and contributed sessions will take place from 8 July onwards. Plenary speakers Prof. Vladislav Popov and Prof. Tatyana Bileva (Agricultural University-Plovdiv), Dr. Anne Fouilloux (LifeWatch ERIC), and Prof. Carl Beierkuhnlein (University of Bayreuth/Universidad de Granada), will present sessions on biodiversity conservation, responses to climate change, agroecology, as well as new frontiers for eScience technologies.

Besides the plenary session, the conference welcomes contributions collected through a Call for Abstracts, and a series of Masterclasses and Training sessions on how to use specific LifeWatch ERIC services. The abstracts collected will be published on the conference Book of Abstracts after the event, as well as submitted for publication on the ARPHA platform.

BEeS 2026 also offers some publication opportunities on three different journals, you can follow the updates on this page: https://www.lifewatch.eu/bees-2026-publication-opportunities.

We welcome participants to submit their abstracts for either a shorter, or longer contributed session (10 or 15 minutes), in one of the selected topics:

  • Uniting science for human, animal, plant and ecosystem health
  • Metagenomics and eDNA for biodiversity and ecosystems
  • Animal traits, behavior and bio-tracking
  • Biodiversity observatories and environmental monitoring
  • Habitat mapping
  • Biogeography: biodiversity conservation across regions and ecosystems
  • Biodiversity and ecosystem responses to climate change
  • Restoration of our oceans and waters
  • Taxonomic data services
  • Semantics and data curation for biodiversity and ecosystem research
  • Soil mission & Microbiology
  • Agroecology

The preliminary programme is available on the BEeS 2026 minisite, and the Call for Abstracts is open until 15 May: submit your work here: https://www.lifewatch.eu/bees-2026-abstract-submission. The registration form and logistic information will be published very soon. Stay tuned!

About LifeWatch Bulgaria:

Bulgaria joined LifeWatch ERIC in 2022 as one of its eight Distributed Centres (https://www.lifewatch.eu/organisation-governance/bulgaria), where the Agricultural University-Plovdiv is the official national scientific organisation. The Distributed Centre provides services such as lab and field testing, agricultural practices assessment, advanced agrobiodiversity monitoring and land use analysis, as well as open-source collaboration, AI services and plant health infrastructure.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2026

Women and girls in science 2026

On 11 February, LifeWatch ERIC joins the global celebrations to raise awareness on the important initiative of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Every year, we have the privilege of working with excellent women scientists, and sometimes we get a chance to feature them in our videos, where they share their knowledge and experience first-hand. To honour this day, we have curated a special Women in Science selection on LifeWatching TV, bringing together and republishing a series of interviews with women researchers.

This collection offers but a glimpse into the impact of women’s contribution on biodiversity and ecosystem research, fields where they often remain underrepresented. We invite you to explore these contents covering topics such as Digital Twins, FAIR data, coastal wetlands restoration, biological invasions, and much more!

The full selection is available here: https://www.lifewatching.tv/women-in-science.

We have also dedicated a special section within our podcast series. You can access it by clicking on the tag “Women in Science”: https://www.lifewatch.eu/podcasts. Enjoy the conversations!

About the International Day of Women and Girls in Science:

This initiative started in 2015, during the inaugural High-Level World Women’s Health and Development Forum, organised by the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT), and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA): https://www.womeninscienceday.org/our-history.html.

The Outcome Declaration of the Forum focused on women’s health and development, reaffirming the importance of physical and mental health of girls and women as a planetary approach to sustainable development, the crucial role of country leadership, and the importance to tackle aspects such as global maternal mortality, uneven progress, gender differences in media representation, among many others.

Every year since 2015 (last year marked the 10th anniversary), this day is internationally celebrated and continues growing global awareness and visibility on the achievements of women in science, and on the need for full and equal access to STEM roles for women and girls.

Marine SABRES in Fairs: a stop in Pisa to explore marine ecosystems and local challenges

Marine SABRES in Fairs - Pisa

The ‘Marine SABRES in Fairs’ initiative reached Pisa for a new stop dedicated to dialogue, knowledge exchange, and marine ecosystem restoration. The event took place within the third round of stakeholder consultations, organised by HuFoSS together with the University of Pisa.

At the Marine SABRES stand, students, researchers, PhD candidates, and stakeholders were invited to discover how marine research connects with everyday life and coastal realities. Through visual materials, videos, and direct interaction with project representatives, visitors explored the objectives and results of Marine SABRES and its contribution to ecosystem-based management.

A central focus of the Pisa edition was the Tuscan Archipelago Demonstration Area. Particular attention was given to restoration actions addressing the degradation of Posidonia oceanica meadows, key marine habitats that are increasingly impacted by human activities, especially tourism pressure along Mediterranean coasts.

The stand also featured documentary trailers produced by the LifeWatch Italy Multimedia Production Centre, offering participants a visual insight into the project’s work and the environmental challenges faced across different marine regions. These short previews helped translate scientific research into accessible stories, fostering awareness and engagement among diverse audiences.

We warmly thank everyone who joined us in Pisa and contributed to the discussion with their interest and questions. If you were unable to attend, the documentary trailers are available on LifeWatching.tv.

For more information, please visit Marine SABRES official website: www.marinesabres.eu

Biodiversity and planetary health: presenting the Crete Declaration at the University of Lisbon

Doctoral Programme on Planetary Health

On 5th January 2026, LifeWatch ERIC’s CEO Christos Arvanitidis delivered an online presentation for the 4th Course of the Doctoral Programme in Planetary Health, organised by the University of Lisbon.
The 40-minute presentation titled “From Biodiversity to Planetary Health: Enabling Science for Societal Transformation” focused on the link between the course’s holistic approach and the “Crete Declaration” approach.

The Crete Declaration is a Declaration of Intent signed between LifeWatch ERIC and a group of Research Infrastructures and European projects and organisations. It takes its name from Heraklion, Crete, where the signing took place in the summer of 2025, during the BEeS 2025 Conference.

With this Declaration, the signatories committed to advance the One Health approach, promoting cross-domain research and integrated solutions. The core premise supporting this ecological-social continuum, which also underlies the common thread of the University of Lisbon Course, is that to address Planetary Health through the current poly-crisis, we need a concerted action.

The Doctoral Programme, in fact, aims at preparing students to tackle complex issues that cross ecological and societal boundaries. The three modules of the course (Adaptation; Transformation; Into Action) address critical global challenges at the intersection of health, environmental, social and political science, with the aim of fostering discussion and critical thinking through a wide variety of topics.

This was central to Christos’ intervention, proposing suggestions on how to turn biodiversity science into action: an ambition that requires a shift from fragmentation to integration of disciplines, data silos, and policy gaps.
An insightful round of discussions with the students followed the presentation, providing a mutual exchange that may inspire both the students and the future work of the Crete Declaration.

If you would like to contribute your perspective to the Crete Declaration, you can add your name here: https://www.lifewatch.eu/crete-declaration. We will inform you about future developments. Are you interested in applying for the Doctoral Programme in Planetary Health? The first round of applications runs from 12 January to 20 February 2026. All details are available here: https://www.ulisboa.pt/planetary-health-studies.