Science Day 2024: Hight-T at Sea

ostend marine station event

Ostend, Belgium

The Marine Station Ostend of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), will be open for visits on Sunday, 24 November 2024, in celebration of the Belgian Science Day 2024. This will be a unique opportunity for anyone interested in marine research, to explore the institution and even step aboard a marine research vessel.

The objective of the event, called “High-T at sea”, is to highlight the high-tech progress of marine research, with a dense agenda including highlights such as ocean digital twins, interactive digital experience labs, and activities for children, including building their own periscope.

LifeWatch Belgium will be present as well, to showcase cutting-edge technological innovations. Additionally, children will be able to participate in the WoRMS sea creature scavenger hunt. There’s something for everyone!

The full programme (in Dutch) is available here: https://www.vliz.be/en/events/science-day-2024-high-t-sea

OBIS-GBIF Joint Strategy & Action Plan

Online

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) will update the action plan annually through a joint implementation committee of staff from both networks’ nodes and the Secretariats. This committee will address technical and community components of the annual plans and make recommendations on the activities they outline.

During the meeting, partners will also explore the potential for organising combined conferences and meetings to foster closer collaboration and hosting symposia and training workshops.

OBIS and GBIF have a history of using common data-sharing tools and standards. They have recently collaborated to incorporate eDNA-based data and have published co-authored guidance on how to publish DNA-derived data on marine life.

To learn more and register for the workshop, please visit this page: https://lifewatch.be/en/news?p=show&id=9317.

ZEEKERWETEN – Science Festival at the coast

15-16 June, Oostende, Belgium

The Zeekerweter is a science festival located on the Belgian coast. At the festival, attendees can experience rising sea levels through an immersive Virtual Reality experience. Additionally, participants can explore the rich biodiversity of the sea at the beach of Oosteroever in the “sea workshop”. The festival also offers sustainable seafood and comedy centred around the sea theme.

On June 15, LifeWatch Belgium will host two sessions. One will focus on Virtual Reality, climate, and plankton, while the second will take place at Oosteroever Beach, where participants can discover what lives in the sea and on the sand.

On June 16, the Ostend Marine Station will be a fusion of science, art, and creativity.

To learn more about this event, please visit this website: https://lifewatch.be/en/events/zeekerweten-science-festival-coast.

Research Infrastructures in a Changing Global, Environmental and Socio-economical Context

Brussels, Belgium

The “Research Infrastructures in a Changing Global, Environmental, and Socio-economic Context” conference, organised as part of the Belgian Presidency of the European Council, is scheduled to take place on June 4th and June 5th, 2024, in Brussels at the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR).

The conference will focus on the role of Research Infrastructures (RIs) in achieving strategic autonomy in a changing global context, their socio-economic and environmental impacts and their wider ecosystems.

Research infrastructures are increasingly affected by various challenges. The conference will explore the value of RIs in achieving open strategic autonomy, their contribution to key policy objectives such as the Green Deal, and their relationship with national/regional RIs and other initiatives and instruments.

To learn more, please visit this website: https://www.belspo.be/Belspo/EUBelgium24/2024060405_ResearchInfrastructures_en.stm#subscriptionform

Animal Movement and Biologging

Online, 22 March 20240

This workshop is part of a series dedicated to our thematic services. For more information, visit the dedicated minisite. To register, please fill out this form.

Agenda

  • 10:00 | Introduction LifeWatch Thematic Core Service (TCS) by Alberto Basset (LifeWatch Service Center)
  • 10:20 | Defining the scope of the TCS Taxonomy Services by Jan Reubens (LifeWatch Belgium) + Discussion
  • 10:30 | What is already in place in terms of services (within and outside of LifeWatch)? – Compiled presentation based on received input
  • 11:00 | What are the needs and requirements from the community or how can we identify these? – Discussion on stakeholders to involve
  • 11:30 | How can we further integrate this in the infrastructure? – Discussion
  • 11:45 | How to organize this TCS-community interaction for the future? – Discussion
  • 12:00 | Closing the meeting

LifeWatch Thematic Services Workshop – Taxonomy Services

Brussels, Belgium, 30 January 2024

We are pleased to announce the start of the LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Services Workshops. 

The kick-off Workshop, focusing on the Taxonomy Thematic Services, has been proposed and organised by LifeWatch Belgium in collaboration with all LifeWatch Common Facilities and National Distributed Centers. The workshop will be held in Brussels on January 30th, concurrently with the LifeWatch Belgium Biodiversity Day. The workshop also launches the constitution of LifeWatch ERIC Working Groups on the Thematic Services, engaging participants from all LifeWatch National Distributed Centers and Common Facilities in an open discussion on the current state of the Taxonomy Services, their actual matching with the scientific community needs and requirements and the approaches and priorities of the Taxonomy Services’ Working Group for further integration and improvement of LifeWatch Taxonomy Services and user engagement. The other workshop will be announced soon on our website.

To register, please fill in this form. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Leen Vandepitte.

Agenda

10:00 | Welcome
10:05 | Introduction LifeWatch Thematic Core Service (TCS) by Alberto Basset (LifeWatch Service Center).
10:20 | Defining the scope of the TCS Taxonomy Services (TCS) by Leen Vandepitte (LifeWatch Belgium) + Discussion.
10:30 | What is already in place in terms of taxonomic services (within and outside of LifeWatch)? by Stefanie Dekeyzer (LifeWatch Belgium) + Discussion.
11:00 | What are the needs and requirements from the community or how can we identify these? by Leen Vandepitte (LifeWatch Belgium) + Discussion.
11:30 | How can we further integrate this into the infrastructure? (Discussion).
11:45 | How to organize this TCS-community interaction for the future? (Discussion).
12:00 | Closing the meeting

LifeWatch Biodiversity Day – Taxonomy: The science behind species discovery

Brussels, Belgium, 30 January 2024

The LifeWatch Biodiversity Day – Taxonomy: The science behind species discovery will be held at the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts in Brussels.

Hendrik Segers, the Coordinator and National Focal Point to the Convention on Biological Diversity, will inaugurate the event with an insightful introduction, emphasising the significance of taxonomy for biodiversity policy.

The afternoon will be filled with captivating talks on taxonomic data systems. Peter Schalk from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center will discuss the opportunities taxonomy presents in the digital age. Leen Vandepitte, the Aphia/WoRMS coordinator at Flanders Marine Institute, will throw light on the World Register of Marine Species. Koen Martens from the Institute of Natural Sciences will share his Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment expertise.

Later, the event will shift to the practical use of taxonomy for biology, distribution, and society. Fanny Douvere, Head of the Marine Programme at the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO, will discuss the combination of taxonomic information and occurrences to emphasise the importance of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Victor Deklerck, Director of Science at World Forest ID, will explore the role of World Forest ID in filling the science and data gap in global supply chains.

For more information, please visit this page.

Big Seashell Survey 2023

Big Seashell Survey 2023

LifeWatch Belgium invites you on Saturday 25 March 2023 to one of the 10 coastal municipalities along the Belgian coast for the sixth Belgian Big Seashell Survey. On that day, hundreds of amateur scientists and citizens will determine which shells have washed up on the beaches. This can give us a better picture of the changes in marine life in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Like effects of climate change, human constructions, or the arrival and spreading of non-indigenous species…

You will be collecting shells, admiring them and trying to figure out what species they are. At the same time, you will also give science a boost. In each of the ten coastal municipalities, shell experts will help you collect and identify your hundred beach shells at the counting stations between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. When hundreds of enthusiasts do so, we all learn a lot more about these fascinating marine animals. Experienced or not, anyone can become a (marine) scientist for one day!

On site, there are also some fun activities tailored to children (in Dutch only). More information at www.groteschelpenteldag.be (in Dutch only).

The Big Seashell Survey goes international!

The Netherlands and northern France will also be using the same technique on Saturday 25 March. Will we find the same shells in northern France as in Belgium or the Netherlands? The Big Seashell Survey is an initiative of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), the Province of West Flanders, EOS magazine, the Strandwerkgroep, Natuurpunt, Kusterfgoed and the coastal municipalities.

LifeWatch ERIC BEeS Biodiversity and Ecosystem eScience Conference

Bees Conference

Seville, Spain, 22–24 May 2023.

This Biodiversity Day, don’t miss out on the LifeWatch ERIC BEes Biodiversity and Ecosystem eScience Conference “Threats and challenges to biodiversity and ecosystem conservation from an eScience perspective”.

Submit your abstracts until 30 April on the following topics: major threats to the Earth’s biodiversity and ecosystem health, Macroecological and biogeographical approaches to biodiversity conservation, Ecosystem and habitat mapping, Animal biology and behavioral traits, “System of systems” biodiversity observation, Biodiversity and ecosystem responses to climate change, and finally, Natural capital and the “One Health” approach. There will also be a round table on the theme of World Biodiversity Day, moderated by LifeWatch ERIC and keynote speakers.

Visit the conference minisite to sign up and/or submit your abstract.