Azorean Biodiversity Portal

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25/09/2019

The Autonomous Region of the Azores is a remote archipelago consisting of nine islands in the Atlantic Ocean, 1,360 km from the coast of Portugal. The Azorean Biodiversity Portal (ABP), a key infrastructure for the integrated management of biodiversity data in the Azores, is now associated with PORBIOTA, the building block of LifeWatch Portugal, and therefore with LifeWatch ERIC.

LifeWatch ERIC’s offer to its users will now been widened thanks to ABP and its opportunities. The 3,000 visits per day, the numerous international scientific collaborations, resulting in publications and academic theses, and the connection with other prestigious databases demonstrate the Portal’s value to the LifeWatch ERIC scientific community, as well as its general appeal.

Hosted by the University of Azores and funded 85/15 by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) and Azorean public funds through Operational Program Azores 2020, the ABP provides an original platform for biogeographical and macroecological research on the islands, which are among the richest regions in Europe as regards fungi, plant and animal diversity.

By fostering the mobilization of biodiversity data on a regional level, ABP stands as a valuable tool to raise awareness of biodiversity on a global scale and to promote the development of knowledge in this field and its dissemination.

ABP was the first Biodiversity Portal in Portugal when it was established in 2008, and provides not only taxonomic and occurrence data, but also images of most species in a temporal scope from as far back as 1,443. These days it is recognised as a valuable outreach, management and conservation tool for everyone working in the research and conservation of biodiversity.

The Portal features over 2.4 million records of taxonomic distribution information on around 5,000 species, including 1,332,681 occurrences of plants, 1,051,476 of animals, and 24,258 of fungi. As such, it is a unique resource for fundamental research in systematics, biodiversity, education and conservation management in the Azores.

Fund raising

End of January 2025 – Establishing a WG Committee on scouting project application opportunities and fundraising

Organising WG workshops and conferences

End of January 2025 – Setting priority research lines and contributions to the BEeS 2025 LifeWatch Conference for the session on the “Ecological responses to climate change”
March/April 2025 (TBD) – Workshop ‘Ecological modelling and eco-informatics to address functional responses of biodiversity and ecosystems to climate change’ co-organized with the University of Salento
30 June – 3 July 2025 – Participation to LifeWatch 2025 BEeS Conference on “Addressing the Triple Planetary Crisis”

Implementing services

End of January 2025 – Internal distribution of a questionnaire on the most used/relevant model resources in the WG member research activity
February 2025 (TBD) – Online working table on setting priorities, timeline and milestones for the mapping service and model requirements by scientists and science stakeholders

Mapping user requirements

End of January 2025 – Catalogue of services already available in LifeWatch ERIC or research lines addressing ecological responses to climate change
February 2025 (TBD) – Online working table on setting priorities, timeline and milestones for the mapping service and model requirements by scientists and science stakeholders

Bulgaria

The Bulgarian National Distributed Centre is represented by the Agricultural University-Plovdiv.

To know more about how Bulgaria contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Spain

The Spanish National Distributed Centre is supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Regional Government of Andalusia and the Guadalquivir River Basin Authority (Ministry for Ecological Transition-MITECO). Moreover, Spain is the hosting Member State of LifeWatch ERIC, the location of its Statutory Seat & ICT e-Infrastructure Technical Office (LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities).

To know more about how Spain contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Slovenia

The Slovenian National Distributed Centre is led by the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU). It focuses on the development of technological solutions in the field of biodiversity and socio-ecosystem research.

To know more about how Slovenia contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Portugal

The Portuguese National Distributed Centre is managed by PORBIOTA, the Portuguese e-Infrastructure for Information and Research on Biodiversity. Led by BIOPOLIS/CIBIO-InBIO – Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, PORBIOTA connects the principal Portuguese research institutions working in biodiversity.

To know more about how Portugal contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Netherlands

The Dutch National Distributed Centre is hosted by the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam. Moreover, The Netherlands hosts one of the LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities, the Virtual Laboratory and Innovation Centre.

To know more about how The Netherlands contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Italy

The Italian National Distributed Centre is led and managed by the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and is coordinated by a Joint Research Unit, currently comprising 35 members. Moreover, Italy hosts one of the LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities, the Service Centre.

To know more about how Italy contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Greece

The Greek National Distributed Centre is funded by the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology and is coordinated by the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, in conjunction with 47 associated partner institutions.

To know more about how Greece contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Belgium

The Belgian National Distributed Centre makes varied and complementary in-kind contributions to LifeWatch ERIC. These are implemented in the form of long-lasting projects by various research centres and universities distributed throughout the country and supported by each respective political authority.

To know more about how Belgium contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.