Researchers

What we offer to researchers

LifeWatch ERIC tackles the constraints affecting biodiversity and ecosystem research, such as the pressing need for increasingly diverse data, larger and more advanced models, open data and open science clouds, making it possible to explore new frontiers in ecological science and support society in addressing planetary challenges.

You can use LifeWatch ERIC services, VREs and tools into the MyLifeWatch environment. Click here to access it.

Click these icons to thematically browse LifeWatch ERIC services.

Ecological Responses to Climate Change

Data curation, data analysis and modelling, to better understand ecological responses to climate change.
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Taxonomy

Run taxonomic checks on scientific and common species names.
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Animal Movement and Biologging

Provides information on species distribution and coverage in different geographical areas.
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Biogeography

Data curation, analysis and modelling to understand biogeographical gradients in space and time.
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Biodiversity Observatory Automation

Monitor and detect biodiversity (from aerial observations to eDNA), from data collection design, curation, and exploration.
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Habitat Mapping

Provides information on habitat and biotope occurrence and characteristics.
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Coordinate Reference Systems

Geographical analysis through the use of coordinate reference systems.
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Data Management

Services designed to cover the entire data lifecycle, from acquisition to visualisation.
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Environmental Monitoring

Services enabling environmental monitoring and the evaluation of ecosystem health.
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Functional Traits

Analyse species' functional traits to determine their effect on processes and responses to environmental factors.
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Metagenomics

Services dedicated to DNA Metabarcoding analysis.
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Modelling

Services which enable the derivation of future scenarios under multiple vectors of change.
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Semantics

Discover core and domain ontologies, as well as vocabularies and domain-relevant reference lists.
View all services

Networking

Join our Community

On our research community portal you can find job opportunities from our projects, working groups, events, and much more.

Most importantly, you can connect with other researchers in your field from around the world and search for people with the skills you need.

Join the Community

Thematic Services Working Groups

Activities, developments and physical outcomes of the LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Services, as e-Services, Virtual Labs (vLabs) and more complex and complete Virtual Research Environments (VREs), are planned to be implemented by Thematic Service Working Groups participated by scientists from both the National Distributed Centres and the Common Facilities, with an overall coordination of the LifeWatch ERIC Service Centre.

Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity Patterns

Taxonomy

Animal movement

Animal Movement and Biologging

Animal movement

Biogeography

Biodiversity Observatory Automation

habitat mapping

Habitat Mapping

habitat mapping

2025 annual conference

Registration, Call for Abstracts & Info

Featured podcast

The intersections between biodiversity responses, human well-being and climate change
The intersections between biodiversity responses, human well-being and climate change

Climate change is already having profound impacts on ecosystem functioning and services, while affecting living organisms and contributing to biodiversity decline.

Citing LifeWatch ERIC

When and how to cite LifeWatch ERIC in a research output such as a scientific publication? 

This section guides you through the different cases in which you have to cite LifeWatch ERIC and provides you guidelines on how to do so.

The checklist  shows you when it is necessary to cite LifeWatch ERIC or any member of its staff, while in the box of your right you will find details on how to do it case by case. 

Should you still have questions or doubts, or you don’t find a solution applicable to your case, do not hesitate to write to communications[at]lifewatch.eu.

  • If you are staff member of LifeWatch ERIC or of a National Distributed Centre (Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain)
  • If LifeWatch ERIC staff contributed to any aspect of the research
  • If you have used any LifeWatch ERIC tools, services or VREs to carry on your research
  • If your work was financially supported by LifeWatch ERIC

Make sure to mention LifeWatch ERIC in your affiliation.

TIP: Please also note that some harvesting systems for publications only search in fields like title, whenever you can, please add LifeWatch ERIC therein for a better result.

Make sure to add at least LifeWatch [Country] to your affiliation.

Please get in touch with your national distributed centre for any further specification. 

TIP: Please also note that some harvesting systems for publications only search in fields like title, whenever you can add, please LifeWatch [Country] therein for a better result.

  1. If LifeWatch ERIC staff contributed substantially to any aspect of the research, they should be considered as co-authors, or;
  2. when their contributions do not warrant co-authorship, their support should be mentioned in the Acknowledgement section as follows:
    “We thank [staff name surname(s)] (LifeWatch ERIC) for [his/her/their] assistance with [describe tasks].”

All research outputs realised using LifeWatch ERIC services, tools and VREs which are subject to creative commons licenses (primarily cc-0 and cc-by), shall mention LifeWatch ERIC in acknowledgement as follows:
“This work has used the … [ name the data, tool(s) and service(s)] provided by LifeWatch ERIC.”

If your research work was financially funded or co-funded by LifeWatch ERIC please add in the Acknowledgement section:

“This research was financially supported by LifeWatch ERIC“

FAQs

Do you have questions regarding the organisation and functioning of LifeWatch ERIC?
Consult our FAQ.

LifeWatch ERIC is the e-Science European infrastructure for biodiversity & ecosystem research, investing in three essential components: open access resources, reproducible analytics and mobilised communities. It tackles the constraints affecting biodiversity and ecosystem research, enabling the exploration of new frontiers in ecological science and supporting society in addressing planetary challenges.

LifeWatch ERIC offers scientists access to data, web-services, VREs, workflows and training opportunities to support biodiversity and ecosystem research.

You can access all LifeWatch ERIC Resources through its MetaData Catalogue. Please open a ticket through our Help Desk to have the access granted.

You can share your research outputs by publishing metadata of datasets, services, VREs and workflows on the LifeWatch ERIC MetaData Catalogue. Please open a ticket through our Help Desk to have the access granted.

No, all LifeWatch ERIC resources are free of charge.

EcoPortal is one of our intiatives. In the last decade, ecological research groups and infrastructures have contributed to the definition and the production of core and domain ontologies as well as of vocabularies and domain-relevant reference lists.

In order to support the scientific community in the management and integration of these different approaches, LifeWatch ERIC has created EcoPortal, an online space designed to collect semantic resources and provide the necessary services for enabling discovery and interoperability.

LifeWatch ERIC envisages the creation of a repository for semantic resources with associated essential curation services.

LifeBlock is a Blockchain-based platform for engaging, tracking and securing biodiversity and ecosystem research resources worldwide, making use of anti-tampering, provenance and traceability e-Services to guarantee the availability of FAIR-compliant data. It allows for the analysis of multiple unstructured inputs from remote and in-field sensing, Remote Sensing-GIS datasets and original studies in order to produce value estimates.

Click here to access LifeBlock.

The Internal Joint and Collaborative Initiative (IJI) has been created in order to:

  1. Boost the integration of tools and services into the LifeWatch ERIC web portal;
  2. Focus on a major scientific issue in biodiversity and ecosystem research with relevant socio-economic implications in different fields;
  3. Produce the new and synthetic knowledge that is needed by institutions, administrations and managers to find solutions for major environmental problems on various scales;
  4. Involve the LifeWatch ERIC national scientific communities, key international research groups and other European research Infrastructures with related interests and running activities; and,
  5. Make this effort an example of the functioning of the LifeWatch ERIC e-Infrastructure through its dissemination and outreach activities.

The topic of non-indigenous and invasive species (NIS) has been chosen as the first demonstration case of the functioning of the LifeWatch ERIC e-Infrastructure. The development of virtual research environments within the e-Infrastructure help address some of the main issues on NIS in the field of ecosystem and habitat type vulnerability and in the context of climate change, as well as help highlight societal needs and potential solutions to be tested.

Training and support materials are available on our Training Platform. Please click and register to enrol in courses and browse our resources.

LifeWatch ERIC has its own Community Platform, where you can join and create working groups, browse our calls and submit opportunities on our board, as well as access our directory of scientific skills. Join the Community!

If you want to know more about LifeWatch ERIC or have general inquiries, please fill in the form in our Contact page.
If you want to have specific information about the tools, web-services, VREs, workflows and training opportunities check our Help Desk knowledge base, or open a new ticket.

Latest News for Researchers

Biodiversity Meets Data: the EU & SERI project that will turn biodiversity data into action
BMD (Biodiversity Meets Data) aims to enhance access to high-throughput biodiversity monitoring tools, analyses, and data to support evidence-based conservation efforts across Europe. The project, coordinated by Niels Raes from Naturalis Biodiversity Center, kicked off in Leiden, the Netherlands, at the beginning of March 2025 (click here for a nice group picture). Joaquín López Lérida attended the meeting on behalf of LifeWatch ERIC. During the event, presentations on the current biodiversity policy landscape highlighted how Biodiversity Meets Data can support key initiatives such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Birds and Habitats Directives and the Nature Restoration Law. Even before its official launch, the project had already made its first appearances - at the The European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) workshop in November 2024, and at the Eurosite – European Land Conservation Network Annual Meeting in October. More specifically, BMD will provide a Single Access Point (SAP) for natural resource managers and policymakers, offering access to:  Biodiversity monitoring tools including image, sound, e-DNA and AI taxon identification services;  Co-designed Virtual Research Environments (VREs) for terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms;  A Web-GIS Map Viewer for data exploration. The Virtual Research Environments (VREs) will build on the expertise...
WoRMS reveals the list of ten remarkable new marine species from 2024
Every year, the World Register of Marine Species releases its annual list of the top ten remarkable marine species described by researchers during the previous year. We are glad to announce that the 2024 list was revealed on 19 March, a date that coincides with World Taxonomist Appreciation Day. This date was not randomly chosen: it is worth noting that over 340 taxonomists around the world contribute their time to keeping the World Register of Marine Species up to date, and this is WoRMS' way of acknowledging their work and celebrating taxonomists worldwide. Selecting the top ten was no easy task, with an average of 2,000 fascinating new marine species discovered every year, and over 3,200 described in 2024 alone. The call for nominations was announced in December 2024 and sent to all WoRMS editors and major taxonomy journals. The final decisions reflect the immense diversity of taxonomic groups in the marine environment, including crustaceans, corals, sponges, jellies, and worms. Read the full press release here: https://marinespecies.org/worms-top-ten/2024/press-release About WoRMS: hosted by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), within LifeWatch Belgium (the National Distributed Centre of LifeWatch ERIC - more info here), the World Register of Marine Species grew out of the...
Become a Traits Thesaurus 2.0 validator on EcoPortal
LifeWatch Italy (https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/) is launching a Call for Action to validate, refine, and expand the Traits Thesaurus 2.0, a comprehensive semantic artefact designed to standardise trait data and metadata for aquatic organisms, covering diverse biological groups, such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish, macroalgae, and macrozoobenthos. The Traits Thesaurus 2.0 builds upon, and integrates, pre-existing thesauri, originally developed within LifeWatch Italy, into a unified and structured framework. The first validated version (1.0), is already available on EcoPortal: https://ecoportal.lifewatch.eu/ontologies/TRAITS_THES. By becoming a validator, you will: Contribute to trait-based research, and help standardise trait data, supporting scientific progress in aquatic ecology; Reduce heterogeneity in trait-based data, playing a crucial role in developing new standards for trait-based data, and improving the interoperability of trait terminologies; Collaborate with a network of experts; Receive acknowledgement of your contribution by an open-access resource that supports interoperability in trait-based research. If you decide to join the Traits Thesaurus 2.0 pool of validators, you will review and provide feedback on specific terms and definitions included. The validation phase will last for three weeks, and after the necessary revisions, the updated thesaurus will be published. If you want to join, fill in this form by 25 March: https://forms.office.com/e/6LGXj2TUJ2?origin=lprLink, to receive the...
Women in Science: LifeWatching TV special feature for International Women’s Day 2025
Thanks to our daily activities and European projects, we’ve had the opportunity to work with inspiring female researchers, technologists, managers, policymakers and science communication professionals.  For our International Women’s Day 2025 campaign, we have decided to put them in the spotlight and entirely dedicate the homepage of our LifeWatching TV to the talented women in science we have met over these years, collecting and republishing their interviews. Some of these women are directly involved in LifeWatch ERIC or its National Distributed Centres, while others are researchers that we’ve had the chance to work with in the context of scientific projects. We thought this was the perfect opportunity to revisit their work and listen once again to what they have to say, learning more about their expertise and understanding their impact on biodiversity and ecosystem research: from coastal wetlands to fisheries, bat populations to deep-sea observation, animal tracking and behaviour, invasive alien species, phytoplankton, to name just a few examples. After the end of this year’s campaign,these contents will remain available in the new permanent page “Women in Science”. We have also expanded our efforts, replicating the initiative in our LifeWatch ERIC Podcasts, introducing a “Women in Science” category on our...
Meet the Libroscope: LifeWatch ERIC signs the Disentis Roadmap 2024, a new vision to liberate data from biodiversity publications
LifeWatch ERIC is proud to be one of the 26 first signatories of the Disentis Roadmap: a mission involving some of the world's leading institutions, experts and scientific infrastructures dedicated to biodiversity information. These organisations are joining forces to pursue a 10-year roadmap with a unique objective: to "liberate" data existing and presently trapped in research publications. A goal that is fully aligned with LifeWatch ERIC's mission to provide access and support to biodiversity and ecosystem data, as it helps make what science has provided us accessible and usable. The initiative aims to enable the creation of a "Libroscope": a mechanism for unlocking and linking data from scientific literature, to support understanding of biodiversity. This fascinating name evokes the microscope and the telescope: two instruments that previously revolutionised science! The Disentis Roadmap builds on the 2014 Bouchout Declaration on Open Biodiversity Knowledge Management. Ten years later, the follow up symposium in Disentis (Switzerland), evaluated the progress made since the first meeting, highlighting the need to simplify access to data across research publications and better connect them. This year, 26 institutions, and 46 individual experts, have signed the Disentis Roadmap, officially setting it in motion on 4th March, 2025. The action...
ENVRI-Hub launches User Group
The ENVRI-Hub User Group is a collaborative space where researchers, data scientists, and environmental professionals can contribute to shaping the development of the ENVRI-Hub, a platform that provides access to environmental research infrastructures, data and digital tools across disciplines. The ENVRI-Hub helps researchers access what they need to tackle climate change, biodiversity, ecosystem services and other environmental challenges, through it's catalogue of FAIR resources. Members of the ENVRI-Hub User Group, launched in February 2025, will have the opportunity to test new tools, provide direct feedback and define training needs, so that the platform can authentically provide a service tailored to the end-user needs. Additionally, members of the User Group will get access to a network of like-minded individuals and gain practical experience in consulting, testing and platform validation. They will be able to interact directly with the technical development team and be the first to see and test each new release of the ENVRI-Hub services. For more information on the advantages of the User Group and on how to join, visit: https://envri.eu/envri-hub-user-group/.
New release of EcoPortal
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...
22nd Italian Ornithology Conference: call for symposia and round tables proposals
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
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...
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...
Fish migration monitoring in the Leie and Scheldt Rivers
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...
World Register of Marine Species calls for Top-Ten marine species nominations
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...
DTO-BioFlow opens Second Open Call
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...
Open applications for Agroecology living labs and research infrastructures
The Agroecology Partnership project (https://www.lifewatch.eu/agroecology-partnership) aims to facilitate the transition of the agricultural sector towards agroecology in Europe. Its mission is to address climate change, biodiversity loss, food security and environmental degradation while ensuring profitability for farmers. LifeWatch ERIC is leading an international team within the project's WP5 (Data and Monitoring Agroecology Transition) to develop and implement an innovative conceptual framework for the monitoring and evaluation of agroecology transitions. As a way to achieve the project's objectives, the European Network of Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures gathers initiatives that enhance knowledge sharing of agroecology innovations across Europe. Members of the Network get access to extensive connections with agri-food stakeholders, learning resources and data sharing between living labs and research infrastructures. They also get to cooperate on international projects and participate to the co-creation of process improvements. The network has opened its first wave of applications for living labs and research infrastructures actively contributing to the agroecology transition: a great chance to connect with similar initiatives, learn best practices, gain visibility, grow and collaborate. Applications for the membership can be submitted by the 28th of February 2025: you can find the details here.
Highlights from the BES Annual Meeting in Liverpool
From 10 to 13 December 2024, over 1500 ecologists gathered in Liverpool for Europe’s largest conference dedicated to ecology. The event held particular relevance for LifeWatch ERIC, thanks to a rich programme of Thematic sessions, addressing the biodiversity crisis, nature restoration policies and practices, novels tools and technologies to tackle current challenges, and much more. This annual meeting also brought together one of the most relevant scientific communities for LifeWatch ERIC’s mission. Earlier this year, LifeWatch ERIC was featured in the autumn issue of the British Ecological Society's Niche magazine, reinforcing the strong connection between the research infrastructure and the ecology community (read more here). LifeWatch ERIC attended the conference with a booth dedicated to research communities facilities, services and resources (including ENVRI-Hub NEXT), and a series of talks dedicated to biodiversity monitoring, conservation strategies, and more. The booth was a great success, directly engaging more than 300 attendees. A unique opportunity to collect feedback on user needs and research priorities. Researchers were invited to share their views via brief surveys about the challenges they face and how LifeWatch ERIC's services could support their work. The response was extremely positive: 275 scientists and researchers from 33 different countries participated, representing different demographics and...
Biodiversity Meets Data: the EU & SERI project that will turn biodiversity data into action

Biodiversity Meets Data: the EU & SERI project that will turn biodiversity data into action

BMD (Biodiversity Meets Data) aims to enhance access to high-throughput biodiversity monitoring tools, analyses, and data to support evidence-based conservation…
Read More
WoRMS reveals the list of ten remarkable new marine species from 2024

WoRMS reveals the list of ten remarkable new marine species from 2024

Every year, the World Register of Marine Species releases its annual list of the top ten remarkable marine species described…
Read More
Become a Traits Thesaurus 2.0 validator on EcoPortal

Become a Traits Thesaurus 2.0 validator on EcoPortal

LifeWatch Italy (https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/) is launching a Call for Action to validate, refine, and expand the Traits Thesaurus 2.0, a comprehensive…
Read More
Women in Science: LifeWatching TV special feature for International Women’s Day 2025

Women in Science: LifeWatching TV special feature for International Women’s Day 2025

Thanks to our daily activities and European projects, we’ve had the opportunity to work with inspiring female researchers, technologists, managers,…
Read More
Meet the Libroscope: LifeWatch ERIC signs the Disentis Roadmap 2024, a new vision to liberate data from biodiversity publications

Meet the Libroscope: LifeWatch ERIC signs the Disentis Roadmap 2024, a new vision to liberate data from biodiversity publications

LifeWatch ERIC is proud to be one of the 26 first signatories of the Disentis Roadmap: a mission involving some…
Read More
ENVRI-Hub launches User Group

ENVRI-Hub launches User Group

The ENVRI-Hub User Group is a collaborative space where researchers, data scientists, and environmental professionals can contribute to shaping the…
Read More
New release of EcoPortal

New release of EcoPortal

We are thrilled to announce the new release of EcoPortal, the LifeWatch ERIC repository of semantic resources for ecology and…
Read More
22nd Italian Ornithology Conference: call for symposia and round tables proposals

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

CISO (Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici), University of Salento and the Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems of the National Research…
Read More
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,…
Read More
Twaite Shad returns to the Scheldt River after 100 years

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…
Read More
EGU General Assembly 2025
Vienna, Austria The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is the leading organisation for Earth, planetary and space science research in Europe,...
EGI Conference 2025 and Call for Contributions
EGI is the federation of computing and storage resource providers: an open ecosystem for research and innovation with the mission...
BEeS 2025: LifeWatch ERIC Annual Conference
Heraklion, Greece The BEeS (Biodiversity and Ecosystem eScience) Conference 2025 will gather researchers, policymakers, and experts to tackle the Triple...
22nd Italian Ornithology Conference
Lecce, Italy CISO (Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici), University of Salento and the Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems of the...
The European Data Conference on Reference Data and Semantics
Brussels, Belgium ENDORSE 2025 is the third edition of the European Data Conference on Reference Data and Semantics, taking place...
7th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity
Bruges, Belgium The 7th edition of the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity will be held from November 17-20th 2026 (WCMB...

Events for Researchers

27/04/2025
EGU General Assembly 2025
02/06/2025
EGI Conference 2025 and Call for Contributions
30/06/2025
BEeS 2025: LifeWatch ERIC Annual Conference
08/09/2025
22nd Italian Ornithology Conference
08/10/2025
The European Data Conference on Reference Data and Semantics
17/11/2026
7th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity
ALL-Ready Regional Workshop

ALL-Ready Regional Workshop

Seville, Spain, 2 November 2022. The ALL-Ready project is organising an interactive regional workshop on “Accelerating Agroecology Transition: Your potential…
Read More
Synchronisation Force 1st Workshop

Synchronisation Force 1st Workshop

Online, 8 November – 12 December 2022. The Synchronisation Force 1st Workshop aims to discuss common challenges and priorities related to…
Read More
Service documentation for EOSC providers Workshop 1: Describing your service for onboarding

Service documentation for EOSC providers Workshop 1: Describing your service for onboarding

Online, 9 November 2022. On 9 November, from 13:00-15:00 CET, the EOSC Future project, in which LifeWatch ERIC is partner,…
Read More
EOSC Symposium 2022

EOSC Symposium 2022

Prague, Czech Republic/online, 14–17 November 2022. The EOSC Symposium is the main EOSC annual event and this year takes place in Prague,…
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SFE2, GFÖ & EEF Joint Meeting

SFE2, GFÖ & EEF Joint Meeting

Metz, France, 21–25 November 2022. During the last century, a period now known as the Anthropocene, ecologists and evolutionists alerted the…
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European Big Data Value Forum 2022

European Big Data Value Forum 2022

Prague, Czech Republic, 21–23 November 2022. The European Big Data Value Forum (EBDVF) brings together industry professionals, business developers, researchers…
Read More
Train-the-Trainer: An active learning course on understanding & using EOSC

Train-the-Trainer: An active learning course on understanding & using EOSC

Online, 21–24 November 2022. In November, EOSC Future is organising a 4-day online course for trainers to enhance their understanding…
Read More
Workshop: e-Tools & resources to address key questions on Non-indigenous & Invasive Species

Workshop: e-Tools & resources to address key questions on Non-indigenous & Invasive Species

Metz, France, 21 November 2022. LifeWatch ERIC ICT staff, in collaboration with scientists already engaged in developing research activities on…
Read More
Symposium: Advanced facilities for the ecological research: the European Research Infrastructures

Symposium: Advanced facilities for the ecological research: the European Research Infrastructures

Metz, France, 24 November 2022. The European Commission is strongly promoting the establishment and operation of European Research Infrastructures (ERIs),…
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FAIR Data Day - Reusing data to advance science

FAIR Data Day - Reusing data to advance science

Utrecht, The Netherlands, 29 November 2022. The FAIR Data Day 2022 is an event organised by the National Programme Open Science…
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Vienna, Austria The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is the leading organisation for Earth, planetary and space science research in Europe,...
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Policy Relevance and Uptake

  • End of May 2026 – Policy-brief to demonstrate the application of habitat-based mapping in supporting EU strategies (e.g., Biodiversity Strategy, Nature Restoration Law).

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.
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.

Visit Greece 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.

Visit Italy 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.

Visit Netherlands 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.

Visit Portugal 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.

Visit Slovenia 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.

Visit Spain webpage
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.

Visit Bulgaria webpage

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.

Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building

  • End of December 2025 – Create a shared repository of guidance documents, tools, templates, and data resources accessible to WG members and broader communities.

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-organised with the University of Salento;
  • 30 June – 3 July 2025 – Participation to LifeWatch 2025 BEeS Conference on “Addressing the Triple Planetary Crisis”.

Fund raising

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

Meetings, Webinars, International Conferences & Networking (2025/2026)

  • Organising and participating at discussions on emerging technologies in biodiversity monitoring;
  • Organising webinars on machine learning, eDNA analysis, and automated data collection;
  • Fostering collaboration between researchers, technologists, and decision-makers.

Collaborative Research & Case Studies (2025/2026)

  • Conducting pilot projects to test new monitoring methods;
  • Publishing scientific and popular science papers and reports on advancements in biodiversity assessment.

Data Standardisation & FAIR Principles Implementation (2025/2026)

  • Developing best practices for data curation and sharing;
  • Ensuring that biodiversity data aligns with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) standards.

Development of VREs for Ecosystem Simulation (2026)

  • Creating virtual models of ecosystems to predict environmental changes;
  • Enhancing conservation strategies through AI-driven simulations.

Mapping Requirements and Gap Analysis

  • End of December 2025 – Catalogue of services already available in LifeWatch ERIC or research lines Ecosystem services mapping.

Methodological Alignment and Innovation

  • End of January 2026 – Online working table on mapping standards, classification systems, and indicators across members;
  • End of January 2026 – Catalogue of advanced techniques (e.g., remote sensing, GIS modelling, and machine learning) for scalable, habitat-based ecosystem service mapping;
  • End December 2026 – Methodological framework to support methodological innovation through joint development and testing of mapping approaches, especially linking ecosystem service supply and demand.
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.

Visit Belgium webpage