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Living Data 2025 - The call for sessions is open. Submit yours today!

December 26, 2024 data Living Data 2025

Participate in Living Data 2025 to increase collaboration, capacity and equitable access to data and tools supporting biodiversity monitoring and management.

UNESCO eDNA Expeditions - Successfully transforming innovative eDNA sampling into actionable data with OBIS expertise

December 9, 2024 eDNA eDNA Expeditions UNESCO eDNA Dashboards Policy

Decoding the Ocean - UNESCO eDNA Expeditions Unveil Ocean Biodiversity

Help Build a Holistic Ocean Observing System: Survey for a Collaborative Ocean Observing Blueprint

November 25, 2024 BioEcoOcean survey Horizon Europe

The Horizon Europe project BioEcoOcean is seeking input via a survey for the development of a Blueprint for Integrated Ocean Science.

Marine perspectives on COP16-Reinforced global collaborations to better support conservation

November 24, 2024 COP16 Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Ocean Data and Information System (ODIS) Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Ocean Observations Marine Conservation

With a dedicated Ocean Day and numerous positive concrete outcomes for ocean observations and marine biodiversity conservation, COP16 was a milestone for advancing global ocean observing and information systems. The formal recognition of OBIS and GOOS as crucial marine components of the Global Biodiversity Framework demonstrates the readiness of the two infrastructures to accelerate marine knowledge provision to better protect our Ocean.

Shaping the Future of Marine Biodiversity Data - Takeaways from the 6th OBIS Executive Committee Meeting

November 22, 2024 OBIS Executive Committee Nodes Coordination Group Data Coordination Group Product Coordination Group

The Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) Executive Committee meeting took place at the InnovOcean Campus in Oostende, Belgium, from 14 to 16 October 2024\. The meeting aimed to set OBIS's strategic course for 2025 and establish a visionary document to set long-term goals and foster synergies with other IODE activities. In this article, we outline the three essential takeaways from the meeting.

PacMAN Fiji achieves "Marine Invasive Species Monitoring-Ready" status as project is completed

November 21, 2024 PacMAN Capacity building eDNA marine invasive species Policy

Suva, Fiji, 20 November 2024 – The Pacific Islands Marine Bioinvasions Alert Network (PacMAN) has concluded with resounding success, positioning Fiji as the first island nation recognised by UNESCO as "marine invasive species monitoring ready." Supported by the Flanders Government (Kingdom of Belgium), the four-year IOC-UNESCO project has significantly strengthened Fiji's ability to address the growing challenge of marine invasive species.

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Recently published datasets

Use cases

State of knowledge on marine connectivity gathered by migratory marine species

ABNJ connectivity marine species management telemetry tracking

Advancements in technology have improved our knowledge of how different areas of the ocean are connected by the movement of migratory and mobile marine species. This information is vital to inform area-based management and conservation efforts. The authors of this study, led by the OBIS-SEAMAP node, performed a literature review of 25 years of accessible connectivity data for 173 marine mammal, fish, sea turtle, and seabird species to shed light on the current state of knowledge. They found telemetry methods are the most effective tool for demonstrating connectivity, but that significant gaps and obstacles remain in this field of research.

Invasive marine algae in the Mediterranean was misidentified for decades

Algae Invasive species Mediterranean Modelling

The red algae, "Lophocladia lallemandii", one of the worst invasive species in the Mediterranean, was misidentified for nearly three decades. The researchers who discovered this error recommend genetic analysis as a mandatory first step when identifying, monitoring and managing invasives. OBIS served as a useful data repository to confirm the occurrence of this misidentified species.

Preserving seagrasses in a changing climate

climate change modelling MPA seagrass

This study provides the first comprehensive global assessment of how climate change may affect the distribution and range of 66 seagrass species. It also examines how well the current global MPA coverage will protect these important ecosystems in the future. The authors relied on occurrence records from OBIS, along with other sources of data and expert knowledge, to develop species distribution models under various scenarios.

Metabarcoding is a promising tool for identifying species of fish from their eggs and larvae

DNA eggs fish larvae ichthyoplankton metabarcoding Indian Ocean

Understanding the diversity and distribution of fish egg and larvae in the ocean provides invaluable information on ecosystem health, capacity to recover from disturbances and helps guide management and conservation efforts. This study shows that metabarcoding is a promising tool that allows for rapid and accurate species identification. OBIS was used to validate and confirm the distribution range, habitat and occurrence of the species detected by metabarcoding.

How many species live in the world’s largest marine mineral exploration region?

Biodiversity Deep sea Pacific Taxonomy

This study offers the first comprehensive synthesis of published data for the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the central and eastern Pacific. The authors report that this area, which covers 6 million km2, represents significant undescribed biodiversity with an estimated 88%–92% species waiting to be described. Data used in this research were extracted from OBIS highlighting its value as a global data repository for marine biodiversity.

Current knowledge on the reproduction of deep-sea corals

Corals Deep Sea Depth Distribution Reproduction

This study looks at the current state of research on the reproduction of deep-sea corals. Occurrence records were extracted from OBIS to find available information for species living at depths below 100m. Less than 7% of known deep-sea coral species were found to have any aspect of their reproduction reported in the literature highlighting significant gaps and priorities for future research.

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