the e-Science Infrastructure for
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research
Resources & Services
Access and use the resources and services for biodiversity and ecosystem researchers made available through our catalogues.
LifeWatch Slovenia hosted the 5th Thematic Service Workshop on Biodiversity Observatory Automation
On April 11, LifeWatch Slovenia recently hosted the 5th Thematic Service Workshop on Biodiversity Observatory Automation at the National Institute of Biology in Ljubljana. The workshop focused on reviewing and updating the requirements for effective biodiversity assessment in light of current environmental changes and biodiversity loss. The event had 33 participants who attended the workshop in person, while 30 others joined online. The workshop brought together experts to present the key achievements and obstacles in monitoring and observation approaches and discuss various stakeholders' drawbacks and needs through an extensive programme of twelve presentations. The event included a panel discussion among Rudolf Meier from the Museum of...
LifeWatch Italy, the CNR and the University of Salento launched the Virtual Museum of Ecosystems and the Natural Environment
On 22 April - during Earth Day, the international day for protecting and conserving the environment - LifeWatch Italy, the University of Salento and the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) celebrated by hosting an online webinar entitled "Knowing ecosystems to protect them". During the webinar, the hosts presented the Virtual Museum of Ecosystems and the Natural Environment, a dissemination and learning tool aimed at high school and first-year university students, alongside all citizens interested in understanding how the natural world around us works. The virtual museum features four rooms dedicated to natural environments - mountains, marine-coastal wetlands, semi-arid regions,...
LifeWatch ERIC’s CEO at the 8th European Conference of Scientific Diving in Heraklion, Greece
From April 22 to 26, the scientific diving community will gather in Heraklion, Crete, for the 8th European Conference of Scientific Diving (ECSD). Hosted by the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research—a member of LifeWatch Greece, one of our National Nodes—and the European Panel for Occupational Scientific Diving, this year's conference covers a wide range of topics across the marine sciences spectrum, including biology, ecology, physical oceanography, biogeochemistry, geosciences, and archaeology. There's also a strong focus on cutting-edge technologies in scientific diving, diving education and training, and diving regulation. Newly emerging themes such as marine spatial planning and marine renewable energies...
Biogeography for conservation: a recap from our Thematic Workshop in Bologna
LifeWatch Italy, in partnership with the University of Bologna, organised a two-day workshop as part of the LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Service Workshop Series. The workshop, which took place from April 4th to 5th, brought together scientists and researchers to focus on biogeography and conservation strategies. The event aimed to facilitate in-depth exploration and collaboration and address the pressing challenges related to biodiversity preservation and habitat management. The symposium began with a welcome speech by Alessandro Chiarucci from the University of Bologna, followed by Prof. Alberto Basset from the Università del Salento and LifeWatch ERIC Service Centre Director. Prof. Basset gave...
Tracking biodiversity: it’s all about scale
Scale is a key ingredient when assessing and studying biodiversity: this is the video's key message just released by the MARBEFES project, focusing on the Baltic Sea Broad Belt Transect (BBT). The video is the first "Meet the BBTs"video series that will be released to explore current challenges faced by biodiversity in Europe. MARBEFES, the EU project in which LifeWatch ERIC is a partner, aims to identify the connections between marine biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services, and the resulting societal goods and benefits within coastal communities. The BBTs are the backbone of the MARBEFES research project, which aims to broaden...
EOSC and Beyond: LifeWatch ERIC at the project’s kickoff meeting to accelerate research applications
The EOSC Beyond kickoff meeting occurred on April 17, marking the beginning of an initiative to improve the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) by providing new foundational technical solutions. The outputs will enable developers of scientific application environments to leverage EOSC resources and present them as integrated functionalities to researchers. The ultimate goal is to increase the number of integrated providers and active users of EOSC. As a candidate EOSC node, LifeWatch ERIC - represented by Nicola Fiore, Service Centre ICT Coordinator - participated in the meeting by presenting services like the Metadata Catalogue and LifeBlock, particularly relevant to scientists...
Hic Sunt Lupi meets the citizens
On Wednesday 3 April, the “Hic Sunt Lupi” project held its first public meeting “The return of the wolf in Salento: let's get to know it” in Lecce, Italy. The meeting was opened by the Councilor for Environment of Regione Puglia, Anna Grazia Maraschio, the Mayor of Lecce, Carlo Salvemini and hosted representatives of the experts involved in the project, like Paolo Ciucci, Professor at Sapienza-University of Rome, and Francesco Cozzoli and Francesco De Leo, researchers at the National Research Council (CNR-IRET), Lecce, and Ruben Cataldo, archaeologist and President of Archeo-Rec. This was the first of a series of meetings...
LifeWatch ERIC attended the OSCARS kick-off meeting in Thessaloniki
The OSCARS kick-off meeting took place in Thessaloniki from 13 to 15 March. The event brought together the scientific communities of the five Science Clusters and all project partners to define the work plan for the first 12 months of the project. Our CEO, Christos Arvanitidis, attended the meeting. The OSCARS project stands for Open Science Clusters' Action for Research and Society. It brings together ESFRI and other world-class research infrastructures organised in five "Science Clusters": ENVRI-FAIR (environmental science) EOSC-Life (life science) ESCAPE (astronomy and particle physics) PaNOSC (neutron and light source science) SSHOC (social science and humanities) These clusters have collaborated over the last four...
WoRMS released the 2023 top ten new marine species
On March 19, The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), an initiative hosted by VLIZ, LifeWatch Belgium‘s focal point, released the top ten marine species described by researchers in 2023, coinciding with World Taxonomist Appreciation Day. The list highlights about 2,000 new marine species discovered each year. In 2023, WoRMS added almost 2,000 marine species, including some 330 fossils. In December 2023, World Register of Marine Species sent an invitation for nominations to editors of WoRMS and major taxonomy journals. The invitation was also posted on the WoRMS website and social media, allowing anyone to nominate their favourite marine species...
LifeWatch ERIC organised the Dahlem Workshop of the EOSC Future project
The Dahlem Workshop of the EOSC Future project, 'Accelerating Open Science in EOSC: Collaborative Interfaces between Scientific Domains and Disciplines,' took place in Barcelona, Spain, from 5 to 7 March. Organised by LifeWatch ERIC, the workshop's main objective was to improve dialogue and ensure that the EOSC platform effectively supports interdisciplinary initiatives. Also, engineering teams shared insights on physical development, while high-level scientists presented their achievements and discussed current challenges. This workshop covered EOSC Future's goals and methods for developing collaborative interfaces. A Dahlem Workshop is an international scientific exchange that encourages cooperation and communication and generates new knowledge. It offers...
LifeWatch ERIC at the kick-off meeting of the European Partnership on Agroecology
On February 28, the European Commission launched the European Partnership on Agroecology and the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare. LifeWatch ERIC, represented by Iria Soto and José Manuel Ávila, participated in the first, which introduced the "European Partnership on Accelerating Farming Systems Transition: Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures." The two events represent a significant milestone in advancing European resilient agri-food systems. The partnership is a large-scale European research and innovation initiative that involves the European Commission, 26 Member States, associated countries, and third countries. The European Partnership on Agroecology aims to support agriculture that meets the challenges of climate change, food security,...
Thematic workshop: LifeWatch ERIC explores climate change impacts on biodiversity
The second Thematic Workshop, out of a series of six, was organised by LifeWatch Italy. Following the success of the first workshop on Taxonomy hosted by LifeWatch Belgium, this event took place on February 21st and 22nd at the Rectorate Hall of the University of Salento in Lecce, Italy. Over a hundred participants attended the workshop, both online and in person. The workshop's main objective was to understand and address the ecological impacts of climate change. LifeWatch ERIC has planned a series of workshops for 2024 that will focus on its Thematic Services, ICT tools to support biodiversity and ecosystems...
The ENVRI-Hub NEXT project has kicked off
The ENVRI-Hub NEXT project, of which LifeWatch ERIC is a consortium member, kicked off on February 1. The project builds upon the solid conceptual and technical foundation established by the ENVRI-Hub. The consortium comprises 21 partners and is attending a face-to-face meeting at the EGI Foundation in Amsterdam Science Park from February 6 to 8. ENVRI-Hub NEXT aims to expand multidisciplinary environmental sciences by fostering operational synergies between environmental research infrastructures. The project leverages complementarities in data and service provision, enhancing the integration of cutting-edge information technology. It contributes to a more integrated, productive, and globally competitive ENVRI Science Cluster. The project is set to...
RESTORE4Cs will participate in the Wetlands Conference 2024
RESTORE4Cs - the project participated by LifeWatch ERIC on modelling wetland restoration - will be present at the International Conference Conservation and Management of Wetlands to Tackle Climate Change from 14 to 16 February in Valencia, Spain. The event is organised by Fundación Global Nature together with the University of Valencia, the Generalitat Valenciana and the City Council of Valencia. The aim is to share the latest scientific and technical advances on wetlands and climate change and their crucial role. The discussions will mainly centre around governance frameworks, opportunities for creating green jobs, and the pressing need for conservation efforts. The conference on conservation and management of wetlands...
LifeWatch ERIC at the EOSC Winter School 2024 in Thessaloniki
The EOSC Winter School 2024 took place in Thessaloniki, Greece, from January 29 to February 1. The meeting aimed to establish a solid foundation to encourage innovation, accelerate scientific discoveries, and empower researchers across Europe and beyond. The meeting gathered representatives from all EOSC-related projects. The discussions included policy recommendations, concrete case studies, and information exchange on future models. The event was held at the Mediterranean Palace, offering a focused environment for mutual learning and networking. Our CEO, Christos Arvanitidis, attended the meeting as LifeWatch ERIC leads Work Package Number 6 (WP6) of the EOSC Future project. This Horizon 2020...
LifeWatch Slovenia hosted the 5th Thematic Service Workshop on Biodiversity Observatory Automation
On April 11, LifeWatch Slovenia recently hosted the 5th Thematic Service Workshop on Biodiversity Observatory Automation at the National Institute of Biology in Ljubljana.…
LifeWatch Italy, the CNR and the University of Salento launched the Virtual Museum of Ecosystems and the Natural Environment
On 22 April – during Earth Day, the international day for protecting and conserving the environment – LifeWatch Italy, the…
LifeWatch ERIC's CEO at the 8th European Conference of Scientific Diving in Heraklion, Greece
From April 22 to 26, the scientific diving community will gather in Heraklion, Crete, for the 8th European Conference of…
Biogeography for conservation: a recap from our Thematic Workshop in Bologna
LifeWatch Italy, in partnership with the University of Bologna, organised a two-day workshop as part of the LifeWatch ERIC Thematic…
Tracking biodiversity: it’s all about scale
Scale is a key ingredient when assessing and studying biodiversity: this is the video’s key message just released by the…
EOSC and Beyond: LifeWatch ERIC at the project's kickoff meeting to accelerate research applications
The EOSC Beyond kickoff meeting occurred on April 17, marking the beginning of an initiative to improve the European Open…
Hic Sunt Lupi meets the citizens
On Wednesday 3 April, the “Hic Sunt Lupi” project held its first public meeting “The return of the wolf in…
LifeWatch ERIC attended the OSCARS kick-off meeting in Thessaloniki
The OSCARS kick-off meeting took place in Thessaloniki from 13 to 15 March. The event brought together the scientific communities…
WoRMS released the 2023 top ten new marine species
On March 19, The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), an initiative hosted by VLIZ, LifeWatch Belgium‘s focal point, released…
LifeWatch ERIC organised the Dahlem Workshop of the EOSC Future project
The Dahlem Workshop of the EOSC Future project, ‘Accelerating Open Science in EOSC: Collaborative Interfaces between Scientific Domains and Disciplines,’ took…