New release of EcoPortal

EcoPortal release

We are thrilled to announce the new release of EcoPortal, the LifeWatch ERIC repository of semantic resources for ecology and related domains. This is a major update that introduces the federation feature to OntoPortal and activates this for EcoPortal.
With this release, you can now explore ontologies across multiple federated portals using our new federated browsing and search features, enabling seamless access to ontologies from other OntoPortal instances. This is a joint release with AgroPortal, EarthPortal and BiodivPortal i.e., each portal is now connected to each other and displays some content from the others.

This version also includes significant performance improvements, bug fixes, and user interface upgrades to make your experience smoother and more intuitive.

EcoPortal is designed to facilitate the work of researchers in the ecology domain, supporting the community in the creation, management, mapping and alignment of its semantic resources and subsequently also of its data. Users can upload and share their semantic resources to the portal, while discovering new insights and knowledge by exploring other semantic resources in the repository; they can map their semantic resources to other relevant ones in the same domain and collaborate with other users; they can describe their semantic resources with relevant metadata and get a FAIR score for them. Moreover, they can get feedback and suggestions from other users, who can use and comment on their semantic resources.

Technically speaking, this federation is done “at the user interface level” and the federation architecture is rather simple, being specifically developed to query and aggregate the results from multiple backends. The user interfaces have been significantly changed to handle the results coming from different portals while helping users to understand what is going on and addressing performance issues (e.g., it includes logic to manage duplicate results, optimise result ranking, and manage portal availability). What are the main properties of this federation feature? In few words: a federated documentation, federated categories, federated user interfaces, federated browsing and federated search.
Ontology developers who own a resource in EcoPortal may also have some category assignment double check too.

Check out the full EcoPortal documentation here: https://ontoportal.github.io/documentation/user_guide/EcoPortal

We appreciate your support and look forward to hearing your feedback!

The OntoPortal federation has been achieved in part with the context and support of the European Project FAIR-IMPACT (101057344) and with the collaboration of the OntoPortal Alliance.

22nd Italian Ornithology Conference: call for symposia and round tables proposals

ornithology

CISO (Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici), University of Salento and the Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems of the National Research Council (CNR-IRET), LifeWatch Italy and Or.Me. organise the 22nd Italian Ornithology Conference. The conference will gather ornithologists and natural science enthusiasts together in Lecce, a first edition for the Apulia region in more than 40-year history of ornithology conferences.

Participants are invited to submit proposals for symposia and round tables, proposing topics of their own particular interest or general relevance. Any symposium should therefore focus on a well-defined topic that could appeal to a wider audience than just specialists in the field.

Symposia will have to follow a specific structure with six oral presentations, an introduction and a conclusion. The proposals will be evaluated based on the relevance of the topic, interest and originality, as well as gender and geographical balance criteria.

Round tables will last one hour and a half. A brief initial introduction by the organisers is welcome, but the round table must primarily promote discussion and active interaction among the participants.

The submission deadline is 10 February 2025.

For more information visit:

https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/en/22-convegno-italiano-di-ornitologia/symposia-and-round-tables/

LifeWatch Italy Conference 2025

LifeWatch Italy Conference 2025

Wednesday, 29, and Thursday, 30 January will see the LifeWatch Italy team engaged in its Annual Conference 2025 in Rome, hosted at the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). This important event brings together researchers to explore the latest research and technological advancements in biodiversity and ecosystem.

Italy is a biodiversity hotspot in Europe and one of the founders of LifeWatch ERIC, hosting its Service Centre in Lecce. The LifeWatch ERIC Italian National Distributed Centre is led and managed by the CNR and is coordinated by a Joint Research Unit, currently comprising 35 members. With over 57,400 animal species and 6,500 plant species, Italian landscapes and protected areas serve as natural laboratories for ecological studies.

LifeWatch Italy’s activities span a wide range of data-driven and technological solutions: from the development of controlled vocabularies and ontologies for data interoperability to ensuring FAIR data and metadata. The infrastructure also supports ICT services, Virtual Research Environments (VREs), Learning Platforms, and Citizen Science initiatives.

This year’s conference will focus on strategic developments for LifeWatch Italy, promoting collaboration with other research infrastructures and relevant national-level projects. Discussions will explore taxonomic and biogeographical data, climate change impacts, and new modelling approaches, alongside research on marine and terrestrial biodiversity, bio-cultural heritage, and ecosystem stressors. The event will also highlight technological innovations, including cloud computing, reference genomes, and new research platforms developed through LifeWatchPLUS.

For the detailed agenda, visit: https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/conferenza-lifewatch-italia-2025/

Twaite Shad returns to the Scheldt River after 100 years

We recently shared news about the deployment of a network of fish detection devices along the Leie and the Scheldt rivers (you can find the article here). The Institute for Nature and Forest Research (INBO) has been working for years to protect fish species in the Flanders region. It is, in fact, the independent research institute of the Flemish government that underpins and evaluates biodiversity policy and management through applied scientific research.

Today we bring you a success story, one of those unexpected surprises that truly reward researchers for their dedication.

The twaite shad (also known as the “May fish” by locals), is a migratory fish species once completely disappeared from the Scheldt River due to pollution. Notably, it has made a remarkable return in the past decade.

Easily recognised by the six to ten black spots along its body and its forked tail, the twaite shad migrates upriver to spawn between late April and early May, giving it its nickname.

Its comeback has being monitored since 2014 using LifeWatch Belgium’s acoustic telemetry and data loggers to track its movement and habits. A very significant event that says something about the improving quality of water in the Scheldt river and the positive impacts of conservation efforts.

You can read more about this on the LifeWatch Belgium channel.

Fish migration monitoring in the Leie and Scheldt Rivers

Fish migration

Mapping the migration patterns of fish species is extremely important for researchers, as it allows them to offer better protection against various obstacles.

Every year in fact, millions of fish migrate to their spawning and rearing habitats, where they lay eggs and nurture their young. For some, this means swimming thousands of miles before they can reach their destination, often finding areas blocked by human-made barriers such as dams and navigation lock complexes.

When fish cannot reach their habitat, they cannot reproduce and build their population, for this reason it is important to provide effective solutions.

This is the case in the Leie and Scheldt rivers, which flow from the French border to the Netherlands. The Flemish waterway authority, De Vlaamse Waterweg, has tackled the issue by investing in the construction of fish passages to make these barriers more navigable. A study is monitoring the passage of fish through the pathways, in order to assess the impact of human barriers and the success of these mitigation measures.

Researchers from the Institute for Nature and Forest Research (INBO) have spent the last weeks deploying an extensive network of detection devices along the rivers, focusing in particular on six fish species.

Read more about this initiative on the LifeWatch Belgium website: https://www.lifewatch.be/news/new-study-monitors-fish-migration-leie-and-scheldt-rivers

World Register of Marine Species calls for Top-Ten marine species nominations

marine species

As we carry on with our daily lives working, researching, and attending events, taxonomists are working hard to discover new species every year. Now, the time has come to celebrate their discoveries by submitting nominations for the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) Top-Ten Marine Species of 2024!

The aim of a World Register of Marine Species is to provide a list of names and synonyms of marine organisms, so that it can serve as a guide to interpret taxonomic literature.

The content of the register is controlled by taxonomic and thematic experts: each taxonomic group is represented by an expert who has authority over the content, and is responsible for controlling the quality of the information.

This year’s Top-Ten list will be revealed on the 19th of March 2025, to mark World Taxonomist Appreciation Day, a tribute to the researchers behind these findings.

The WoRMS Top-Ten list collects last year’s most interesting new marine species, bringing them to the attention of the wider public.
The best nominations have a compelling story behind their discovery, whether it’s a species with a rare or unusual morphology, an interesting name, or societal significance.

Submissions are open until Friday, 7th of February, only for species that have been published in 2024. If you are interested in submitting your nomination, you can find additional details here: https://www.lifewatch.be/news/call-nominations-worms-top-ten-marine-species-2024.