Stephen Curry scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half in his return from an ankle injury and the Golden State Warriors won their fourth straight game, 125-112 over the Washington Wizards on Monday night.

Alperen Sengun scored 27 points for a second straight game and added 17 rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 107-92 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday night.

A jury awarded more than $12 million Friday to a woman who lost her job at a Michigan insurance company after declining to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

One of 43 monkeys bred for medical research that escaped a compound in South Carolina has been recovered unharmed, officials said Saturday.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday on whether a law that legislators adopted more than a decade before the Civil War bans abortion and can still be enforced.

Worsening air pollution sickened an estimated 1.8 million people in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the past month, health officials said Tuesday, as schools across the province were ordered to close for five days to protect children's health.

Not long after Edwin Moses figured out how to attack the solution to track's ultimate math problem, he transformed himself into the best hurdler in history.

Huge data encompassed into a unique georeferenced macrobenthic assemblages database

A new peer-reviewed data paper offers a comprehensive, open-access collection of georeferenced biological information about the Antarctic macrobenthic communities. The term macrobenthic refers to the visible-for-the-eye organisms that live near or on the sea bottom such as echinoderms, sponges, ascidians, crustaceans. The paper will help in coordinating biodiversity research and conservation activities on species living near the ocean bottom of the Antarctic.
The data paper "Antarctic macrobenthic communities: A compilation of circumpolar information", published in the open access journal Nature Conservation, describes data from approximately 90 different expeditions in the region since 1956 that have now been made openly available under a CC-By license. The paper provides unique georeferenced biological basic information for the planning of future coordinated research activities, for example those under the umbrella of the biology program Antarctic Thresholds – Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation (AnT-ERA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The information collected could be also beneficial for current conservation priorities such as the planning of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
The expeditions were organised by several famous explorers of the Antarctic. The area covered by the paper consists of almost the entire Southern Ocean, including sites covered by a single ice-shelf. The vast majority of information is from shelf areas around the continent at water depth shallower than 800m. The information from the different sources is then attributed to the classified macrobenthic assemblages. The results are made publicly available via the "Antarctic Biodiversity Facility" (data.biodiversity.aq).
A specific feature of this paper is that the manuscript was automatically generated from the Integrated Publishing Toolkit of the Antarctic Node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (AntaBIF IPT) and then submitted to the journal Nature Conservation through a novel workflow developed by GBIF and Pensoft Publishers. (see previous press release). Data are made freely available through the AntaBIF IPT, and sea-bed images of 214 localities through the data repository for geoscience and environmental data, PANGAEA- Data Publisher for Earth and Environmental Science (sample: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.198682).

Monographs are fundamental for progress in systematic  botany. They are the vehicles for circumscribing and naming taxa, determining distributions and ecology,  assessing  relationships for formal classification, and interpreting long-term  and short-term  dimensions of the evolutionary process. Despite their importance, fewer monographs are now being prepared by the newer generation  of systematic  botanists, who are understandably involved principally with DNA data and analysis, especially for answering  phylogenetic, biogeographic, and population  genetic questions.  As monographs provide  hypotheses regarding species  boundaries and plant relationships, new insights  in many plant groups  are urgently  needed.  Increasing  pressures  on biodiversity, especially in tropical and developing regions of the world, emphasize this point. The results from a workshop (with 21 participants) reaffirm  the central role that monographs play in systematic  botany. But, rather than advocating abbreviated models  for monographic products,  we recommend a full presentation of relevant  information. Electronic  publication offers numerous  means of illustration of taxa, habitats, characters, and statistical and phylogenetic analyses, which previously  would have been prohibitively costly. Open Access and semantically enhanced  linked electronic  publications provide instant access to content from anywhere  in the world, and at the same time link this content to all underlying data and digital resources  used in the work.  Resources  in support  of monography, especially  databases  and widely  and easily  accessible  digital  literature and specimens, are now more powerful  than ever before, but interfacing and interoperability of databases  are much needed. Priorities  for new resources  to be developed  include an index of type collections and an online global chromosome database. Funding  for sabbaticals for monographers to work uninterrupted on major projects  is strongly  encouraged. We recommend that doctoral  students  be assigned  smaller  genera,  or natural  portions  of larger  ones (subgenera, sections,  etc.), to gain the necessary expertise for producing a monograph, including training in a broad array of data collection (e.g., morphology, anatomy, palynology, cytogenetics, DNA techniques, ecology, biogeography), data analysis (e.g., statistics,  phylogenetics, models), and nomenclature. Training programs, supported by institutes, associations, and agencies, provide means for passing on procedures and perspectives of challenging botanical  monography to the next generation  of young systematists.

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ is now offering a position for Quantitative Ecologist (Postdoc) in their Department of Conservation Biology. The position is open to both male and female applicants and it runs for 42 months, starting latest on 01.08.2013 in Leipzig, Germany. Salary will be according to the appropriate civil service level TVÖD, salary group 13.

The successful candidate will be focusing on optimizing monitoring designs at different scales under field constraints and assessinguncertainty in biodiversity trend analyses. He/She will have a PhD in an ecological discipline relevant for the research topic (e.g. population biology), excellent statistical and computing skills, a distinguished publication record, experience in international cooperation and strong interest both in theoretical and applied biodiversity conservation. Fluency in English in speech and writing is essential, some knowledge of German is of advantage.

November 19-22, 2013 Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece

Continuing the successful mission of previous MTSR Conferences (MTSR'05, MTSR'07, MTSR'09, MTSR'10, MTSR'11 and MTSR’12), the seventh International Conference on Metadata and Semantics Research (MTSR'13) aims to bring together scholars and practitioners that share a common interest in the interdisciplinary field of metadata, linked data and ontologies. Participants will share novel knowledge and best practice in the implementation of these semantic technologies across diverse types of Information Environments and applications. These include Cultural Informatics; Open Access Repositories & Digital Libraries; E-learning applications; Search Engine Optimisation & Information Retrieval; Research Information Systems and Infrastructures; e-Science and e-Social Science applications; Agriculture, Food and Environment; Bio-Health & Medical Information Systems.

The 2014 SCIENCE POLICY SYMPOSIUM to support the implementation of the 2020 Biodiversity strategy and the EU Water Framework Directive will be held between 29-30 Jan 2014 in the Museum of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Brussels. The symposium is jointly organised by the EU FP7 funded projects BioFresh and REFRESH.

Numerous EU biodiversity and water related policies have been designed to protect freshwater ecosystems and ensure their sustainable use. However, major challenges still persist in the implementation of these policies. Freshwater ecosystems support 10% of all animal species on Earth and provide a diverse array of functions and services that contribute to human well-being. In recent decades global freshwater biodiversity has declined at a greater rate compared to terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

The Science Policy Symposium for Freshwater Life is organised with the aim of bringing together policy makers and stakeholders from the water, energy and conservation sector, NGOs, the scientific community and selected experts to discuss challenges to implementing the 2020 Biodiversity strategy and the EU Water Framework Directive.

Contact: waterlives.commitee@freshwaterbiodiversity.eu

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium) is part of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase programme, the RMCA has five grants available for a 3-month training programme in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes.

The training includes three subsets:

1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes; and
3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

The main focus of the training is on fish biodiversity data and their integration into FishBase, and on how to use and contribute data to FishBase. The context of these contributions may vary and can also include the knowledge on common names, fish ecology, fisheries statistics, aquaculture and many other areas of fish biology.

After the training, the participants should be able to make their own contribution to fish biology and continue to work on FishBase. They are encouraged to teach their newly apprehended skills to new/local users, to help in completing the database and keeping it up to date, and to spread the use of FishBase as a source of information and a fisheries tool.

This course has been offered annually since 2005 and is held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium).

To apply for traineeship and for more information, go to:
http://www.africamuseum.be/research/collaborations/training/group?set_language=en&cl=en

Please note that for 2014, this course will be given in French only.

Contact: Dimitri Geelhand de Merxem (dimitri.geelhand@africamuseum.be)

The 2013 International Conference on Open Data in Biodiversity and Ecological Research took place between 20 - 22 Nov 2013, hosted by Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. With the aim to promote open data in science twelve foreign speakers introduced relevant projects and initiatives in the sphere of biodiversity informatics: AP-BON, DataONE, Ecological Research, EU-BON, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Japan Biodiversity Information Facility (JBIF), linked open data, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), Pensoft, and Thomson Reuters.

Dirk Schmeller (UFZ) and Lyubomir Penev (Pensoft), who presented EU BON at the conference, share their experience in a recent interview:

What are the aims and main outcomes from this meeting?

LP: Taiwan has an impressive national policy with regard to data management in biodiversity sciences. The meeting summarised years of effort of Taiwanese scientists and especially of Academia Sinica to integrate data and make them publicly available. It is sufficient to mention that Taiwan has established four national nodes of the largest international biodiversity platforms, that is TaiBIF (of GBIF), TaiCOL (of Catalogue of Lige), TaiEOL (of EOL) and TaiBOL (of Barcode of Life).

Were there any biodiversity data integration models presented at the meeting that can be adopted and implemented in EUBON?

LP: Perhaps not directly, however the impressive amount and quality of work and the accumulated experience of the Taiwanese and Japanese colleagues would certainly be of value for EU BON. In addition, there are well established contacts already between the FP7 project SCALES and the National University of Taiwan which could serve as a stepping stone as well, because two of the SCALES partners participate in EU BON and at the meeting (UFZ and Pensoft).

The interest to the EU BON presentation by Dirk was great. An indicator for that was that more  than 120  EU BON leaflets have been picked up by the participants from the information desk.

Did you discuss any opportunities for partnership with organizations and initiatives from Asia and America, which deal with biodiversity data integration and accessibility?

LP: Yes, there were a lot of discussions how to mobilize and publish biodiversity data and most probably several data publishing projects will appear as a result of the discussions. These pilots could be used for the EU BON goals.

US National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) has activities similar to those planned by WP4 Link environment to biodiversity: analyses of patterns, processes and trends. Is there something that EU BON can learn from the experience of its American colleagues?

DS: It is important to keep a close link with Brian Wee and NEON, as they have a head start in comparison to EU BON. I am sure that a collaboration would benefit EU BON to work efficiently.

What is your prognosis for the successful establishment of the data publishing model in scholarly literature, and more specifically in spheres such as Ecology, Genetics, Physiology and Paleontology?

DS: Most research is financed by taxpayer money and should become publicly available once the analyses a researchers has intended are completed. I see a huge potential to publish this data in scholarly literature. I, however, see also quite some difficulties to recombine relevant datasets across different sources for further going analyses. I also see difficulties in the willingness of researchers to share data, as in many cases they see these as their own.

Linked Open Data (LOD) is a new and prominent technology to publish and share data on the web. Could you please explain what exactly hides behind this concept, and how could EU BON benefit from it?

LP: The meeting in Taiwan was impressive also in the wide representation of the Resource Description Framework (RDF) technologies in integration of biodiversity data, especially from a group from the National Museum of Japan and the University of Tokyo. RDF and the OWL Web Ontology Language are definitely the way to go if we want to make diverse data sets interoperable; the implementation of RDF in a pilot phase would be of primary importance for the success of EU BON.

The ASEAN-EU Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Days will take place between 21-23 January 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand.  As a part of the conference EU BON is  going to hold a workshop called "Integration of biodiversity data recording and information management systems for environmental sustainability: a call for EU-ASEAN collaboration" (22nd January).

The agenda of the EU BON workshop includes:

• Review and compare the situation regarding relevant biodiversity and Earth observation data and information sources/providers in EU and ASEAN;

• Examine linkages between regional/national ASEAN and EU efforts with international / global biodiversity information systems (in particular GBIF, GEO BON);

• Assess and discuss national vs. regional level priorities and needs with regard to integrated biodiversity information in ASEAN and Europe;

• Identify common challenges and needs towards further integration of different types, levels, and scopes of available data and information systems;

• To address how S&T cooperation between Europe and ASEAN in the area of biodiversity and Earth observation could be further developed to better serve policy needs (especially in light of IPBES), and to contribute to common goals towards sustainable economic development

The ASEAN-EU Science, Technology and Innovation Days serve as a visible forum for cooperation activities between the two regions in the field of STI. The event addresses researchers from most thematic areas – with a focus on the societal challenges with relevance to both regions – as well policy makers, research conducting companies and innovation managers. It takes place annually, alternating between an ASEAN and a European country. High-level policy makers as well as many research projects and companies seize the chance to network, discuss, exchange and inform themselves.

On the 17 Jan in Geneva, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) received unanimous endorsement to unleash the power of open data for a second decade. There was agreement to continue building on the organization’s first 10 years of pioneering environmental advances, which are designed to improve the quality of life of people everywhere. Fueled by open data, GEO’s efforts are now evident in most regions of the world. GEO is comprised of 90 member nations, the European Commission and 77 Participating Organizations.

"GEO is successfully meeting its mandate, which is to make data and other information open, accessible and easy to discover for decision makers around the world," said Mr. Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment. "GEO’s vision is now operational, a proven force for putting sound science to work across nine essential areas: agriculture, biodiversity, climate, disasters, ecosystems, energy, health, water and weather."

GEO’s mandate is to drive the interoperability of the many thousands of space-based, airborne and in situ Earth observations around the globe. Without concerted efforts to coordinate across diverse observations, these separate systems often yield just snapshot assessments, leading to gaps in scientific understanding and hampering data fusion in support of better decision making for society. GEO aims to fill such gaps by providing a comprehensive, more integrated picture of our changing Earth. GEO is accomplishing this by establishing a Global Earth Observation System of Systems, known as GEOSS, and a Portal through which data and other information can be easily accessed at little or no cost.

"Rather than snapshot assessments, GEO gives us moving pictures of a changing planet," said Mr. Cao Jianlin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. "Our world does not work just in the sea, on land, in the atmosphere or in space, and our policies cannot reflect individual domains either."  China, for example, is partnering with 46 other GEO-member nations and several of GEO’s Participating Organizations to ensure that unprecedented data will be available to measure the effects of human activities and natural processes on the carbon cycle, the first such coordinated effort at the global level.

In South Africa, 22 nations and 5 GEO Participating Organizations recently launched AfriGEOSS with the goal of strengthening that continent’s capabilities to produce, manage and use earth observations. "This new initiative gives us the necessary framework to support informed decisions about a range of priorities, including food security, access to clean water and sanitation, natural resources, and coastal and disaster management," said Derek Hannekom, Minister of Science and Technology, South Africa.

By increasing the utility of open data about the Earth, GEO is helping to mitigate disasters, develop water-management strategies, support citizen observatories, and strengthen food security. GEO is driving the development of new tools, such as a cholera early warning system, as well as painting fuller pictures of complex environmental processes, including through global observations of ocean acidification at the global scale and observations of atmospheric greenhouse gases from space. GEO participants are also studying the footprint of mining practices, with the aim of minimizing future impacts on nearby communities and natural habitat, and focusing on links between air quality and health. There is also focus on the far-reaching consequences of melting glaciers and other serious cold-region concerns.

"The Obama Administration continues to work to catalyze the emergence of new businesses, products and services powered by the U.S. Government's open data. Increasing access to data and data sharing, both nationally and internationally, is crucial for unleashing innovation across our data-driven economy," said Dr. Patrick Gallagher, performing the duties of the Deputy Secretary of Commerce." GEO's collaborative work to integrate open data about the Earth continues to drive the development of new tools, services and scientific insights that are used around the world to support sound decision making."

Following the GEO-X Plenary in Geneva earlier this year (15-16 January 2014), GEO now issues Revision 3 of the GEO 2012-2015 Work Plan incorporating comments from the meeting. The new work plan is available through the GEO Work Plan Information Management system.

The GEO Work Plan provides the agreed framework for implementing the GEOSS 10-Year Implementation Plan (2005-2015). It is a living document that is updated annually. The 2012-2015 Work Plan has been designed to meet the 2015 GEOSS Strategic Targets. As a result, the tasks of the Work Plan correspond to outcomes identified as being necessary to meet the Strategic Targets.

The highlighted actions in the revised work plan are as follows:

• Call for Participation (CFP) in the 6th phase of the GEOSS Architecture Implementation Pilot (AIP)
• GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) - Initial Operating Capability (IOC) phase
• Data Sharing Principles implementation
• AIP information page to GEOSS Implementation
• Call for Proposals: Earth Observations in Decision Support Projects

The GEO Work Plan provides a flexible action-oriented framework for developing new projects within and across areas, and coordinating strategies and investments. Benefits and opportunities include inter-alia: fostering networking and partnerships (new contacts and collaborations); launching regional and/or global initiatives (e.g. GEO BON, GEOGLAM); providing access to data (making more data available); enlarging user-bases (users grow in numbers and diversity); developing and maintaining capacity (participants build on complementarity); increasing visibility and high-level support (e.g. through the GEO Website, Newsletter, Plenary, Ministerial); and leveraging funding for activities (funding mechanisms value contributions to GEOSS implementation, like the European 7^th Framework Programme).

The SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN project aiming at establishing a more sustainable and integrated research and innovation cooperation between the EU and the ASEAN region in the areas of climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials has now published its first project newsletter.

This first issue of the SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN Newsletter contains information about the outcomes from the first project Networking and Cluster Session that took place on 23 January 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as features a news item about the forthcoming sessions scheduled for 28 Match 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. More can be found in the Newsletter available here.

The SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN coordinating action will focus on climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials issues and will aim to enhance collaboration between researchers in the EU and the ASEAN region. Addressing these issues in a coherent way is vital for sustainable development that leads to economic prosperity, social cohesion and environmental integrity. Both regions have developed innovative ideas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt to climate change, improve resource efficiency and manage raw materials.

The April 2014 mirror updates of FishBase (www.fishbase.ca and www.fishbase.us); are now available online.

FishBase stats to date: ( 32800 Species, 303100 Common names, 53900 Pictures,
50200 References, 2110 Collaborators, 700000 Visits/Month )

The June 2014 updates of FishBase and SeaLifeBase are now available online!

FishBase: www.fishbase.us; www.fishbase.ca

FishBase stats to date: 32800 Species, 303100 Common names, 53900 Pictures,
50200 References, 2110 Collaborators, 700000 Visits/Month

SeaLifeBase: www.sealifebase.ca

Funded by the "Severo Ochoa" Excellence Program awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Doñana Biological Station (www.ebd.csic.es) seeks a Postdoctoral fellow for two-years with the aim to conduct research in the field of Biological Invasions. 

EBD-CSIC is interested to examine the multifaceted causes and consequences of biological invasions, a key component of global change. The ultimate goal is to improve our knowledge of the factors that influence the success and impacts of invasions by plants and vertebrates. For this purpose, we investigate species traits conferring invasive potential, the vulnerability of ecosystems to be invaded, and the sensitivity of native biodiversity to invasions under different environmental conditions and scenarios of global change.

Deadline for interested applicants: 17th June-17th July, 2014

Please see attached file for more details (download, pdf)

The August 2014 updates of FishBase are now available online!
See: www.fishbase.us, www.fishbase.ca, www.fishbase.sa 

FishBase stats to date: (32900 Species, 303000 Common names, 54800 Pictures, 51400 References, 2150 Collaborators, 800000 Visits/Month)

Thanks for your continuous patronage and support!

The classical treatise "Flora of Northumberland and Durham" by Nathaniel John Winch is re-published through the innovative Advanced Books platform as an example of combining modern information technology together with historical scholarship to create a new sort of resource and data re-use. This publication will be supporting ongoing research on the botany of the region, which can be seen as a model for other regions in Europe.

The on-line semantically enriched re-publication marries the meticulous detail of old books with the interconnectedness of the internet bringing advantages of the digitization and markup efforts such as data extraction and collation, distribution and re-use of content, archiving of different data elements in relevant repositories and so on.

"Historic biodiversity literature is not just of cultural interest, it can be used to chart biogeographic change and help us understand the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity. Even if we are trying to predict future scenarios for biodiversity, understanding the changes of the past will help understand the changes we should expect in the future" said Dr Quentin Groom from the Meise Botanical Garden, Belgium, who initiated the project and marked up the original text.

The North-east of England has seen many changes since the publication of Winch's Flora. In the 19th Century the area was a powerhouse of the industrial revolution. It was an important coal mining area and significant for the production of iron and steel. It was also a centre for industries such as shipbuilding and engineering. In contrast the uplands in the west of the region were some of the most isolated areas in England, covered in blanket bog and rarely visited.

Since that time heavy industry and mining have declined, but the population has continued to grow. Agriculture and forestry have become mechanized changing the countryside perhaps beyond the recognition of Winch. Many of the plants and localities he mentions have disappeared and a large number of new species have been introduced. The local botanists are still very active in the region. With GPS systems and modern maps they are mapping the region's flora in ever more detail.

The extensive efforts of Quentin Groom from the Botanic Garden Meise and editor of this re-publication combined with the cutting-edge technologies for semantic enhancements used by Pensoft's Advanced Books platform, have resulted in additional details including links to the original citations and coordinates of the mentioned localities. In some cases the habitat that Winch described for a locality differs dramatically from what can be found in the same location nowadays.

The flora, for example, frequently mentions Prestwick Carr, an area of lowland bog, once full of rare species. Sadly it was largely drained just thirty years after the publication of the flora. Yet in recent years the Northumberland Wildlife Trust has been working to restore the bog to its former glory. "When reading Winch's flora, it is easy to see what has been lost, but more importantly what remains to be conserved", comments Groom.

The re-publication of Winch's flora is just one step towards fully understanding all the impacts on wild plants of all the environmental changes that have occurred since the 19th century. Nevertheless, digitization of this flora not only tells us about plants but also about the history of science. Between the lines of this flora one can see a rudimentary understanding of ecology and the beginnings of research on phytogeography.

Consider that in 1831 Charles Darwin set sail on the Beagle, collecting and cataloguing biodiversity around the world, much as Winch had done in North-east England over the preceding 30 years. Field botany at the time was not just a hobby, but a serious pursuit that led to many new discoveries.

Understanding the causes of biodiversity change is only possible if you have data over a long period. The North-east England has an enviable botanical history dating back to William Turner (1508-1568), the so-called, Father of English Botany, who came from Morpeth in Northumberland. Yet he was only the first in a long list of North-eastern botanists, including John Wallis (1714-1793), Nathaniel John Winch (1769-1838), John Gilbert Baker (1834-1920), George Ralph Tate (1805-1871), Gordon Graham and George Swan (1917). Their publications and the works of many others have contributed to a large corpus of literature on the region's flora.

Context:

The Earth's rapidly changing environment is putting critical ecosystem services at risk. There are many challenges involved in understanding global environmental changes, and in providing societies with the policy-relevant knowledge base to deal with them. These challenges will reach across many aspects of scientific endeavour. Indeed, the research community requires state-of-the-art research infrastructures (RIs) to have the capability to explain and predict global environmental changes. In this context the Experimentation in Ecosystem Research conference will provide a platform for discussions on cutting-edge technological tools, large-scale integrative experimental design, technical constraints, data access and last but not least ecosystem modelling. The conference will attract speakers and delegates from around the world and will offer opportunities to reinforce global cooperation.  

Main topics:

• Grand challenges: With the current set of Experimental Research infrastructures in ecosystem science, do we have the capacity to tackle the grand challenges of today and tomorrow?
• In vitro and in natura : How realistic are they, and how they can be better linked?
• Technologies: Which emerging technologies could enhance (or are needed for) the performance and services offered by our RIs?
• Data: Towards an e-infrastructure for ecosystem research - challenges and opportunities
• Modelling:  How accurate is our capacity to forecast and upscale, and what is missing? How can we communicate uncertainty? How do we strike the right balance between modelling and experiments?

The conference is organized under the framework of the European FP7 project ExpeER ( www.expeeronline.eu )

Find out more in the flyer attached below or on the event's website: https://colloque6.inra.fr/expeer-conference

The 4th Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO 4) was officially launched on 6 Oct 2014, during the opening day of the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 12) in Pyeongchang, Korea. Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a periodic report that summarizes the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention.

GBO 4 is a comprehensive report that serves as a mid-term analysis towards the 20 "Aichi Biodiversity Targets". The report states significant progress towards meeting some components of the majority of the Aichi  Biodiversity Targets. Some target components, such as conserving at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and  inland water areas, are on track to be met. However, in most cases this progress is seen as not sufficient to achieve the targets set for 2020, and additional action is required to keep the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 on course. 

The full report can be accessed here: http://www.cbd.int/gbo4/

The latest instalment of the Aichi Targets Passport is available now to download as an app from iTunes and Google Play.

As the flagship publication of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP), the Aichi Targets Passport provides annual updates on the global biodiversity indicators that monitor progress towards the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the underlying Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

The suite of indicators presented in the Aichi Targets Passport was brought together by the BIP. They are as far as possible, global in their coverage, scientifically valid and peer reviewed, and relevant to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. In particular, indicators are presented to highlight the progress that has been made towards each target so far and what baselines exist from which future progress can be monitored.

The Aichi Targets Passport was first released as a "proof of concept" in October 2012 and included one or two indicators for each Aichi Biodiversity Target. Since the release of the Beta version, the BIP Partnership has continued working to enhance and increase the number of global indicators available for each of the targets. In its app format, the information contained in the Aichi Targets Passport is at your fingertips at any time.

This latest edition of the Aichi Targets Passport has been released in tandem with the fourth edition of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-4). In addition to information on which of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets is on-course to completion and which targets require more action, GBO-4 presents options that could halt further biodiversity loss.

The indicators presented in the Aichi Targets Passport are those contained in CBD decision XI/3 with some additional indicators that have been, or are being, developed to fill gaps.

To download the Aichi Targets Passport visit: http://www.bipindicators.net/resource/aichipassport 

iTunes: http://goo.gl/dOWujN

Google Play: http://goo.gl/BN6AfG

An EU-BON Workshop focusing on the DINA system - "Alpha version of mobilization system – the DINA-system MS141" - was hosted the 16. to 18. September 2014 by the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm.

Target group: programmers, developers and system engineers, but the workshop was open to anybody who was interested to learn more about the DINA-system.

Content included:

• Presentations from all DINA-partners
• APIs, service oriented architecture and road map for distributed development, guidelines and principles on how to build a module and join the DINA-system
• Case studies
• Delivery options: creating installations from hosted environment, virtual machines down to source code

For program, particpants list, presentations etc please vist the DINA wiki

The European Journal of Taxonomy is a peer-reviewed international journal in descriptive taxonomy, covering the eukaryotic world. The content range from descriptions of new species to large inventories of different groups - so far more than 400 new species are described in EJT. Its content is fully electronic and Open Access. It is published and funded by a consortium of European natural history institutions. Neither authors nor readers have to pay fees.

The 100th issue of EJT, which was published 24 October 2014, comprises a beautifully illustrated monograph on African millipedes, adding 20 new species to our list of new taxa. Author is Professor Henrik Enghoff from The Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen.

No 100 (2014): A mountain of millipedes I: An endemic species-group of the genus Chaleponcus Attems, 1914, from the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Odontopygidae). Henrik Enghoff

EJT normally is an e-only journal, but on this occasion the editorial team has decided to print a limited number of hard copies, to be distributed amongst the Natural History Institutions around the world.

Professor Henrik Enghoff represents EU BON partner UCPH.

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium) is part of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase program, the RMCA has five grants available for a 3-month training program in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes.

The training includes three subsets:

1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes;
3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

This course has been offered annually since 2005 and is held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium). To apply for traineeship and for more information, please click HERE or HERE. Please note that for 2015, this course will be given in English only.

Questions? Contact Dimitri Geelhand de Merxem (dimitri.geelhand@africamuseum.be).

The European Environment Agency has published its flagship report, the European Environment - State and Outlook 2015 (SOER 2015) .

It contains excellent online resources with detailed information, including downloadable graphs, tables and images. The report is compiled every five years and includes an assessment of trends and prospects, information on individual countries and regions, cross-country comparisons and the global context.

Aggregated level information on climate change, impacts, vulnerability and adaptation is included. 

Read more and find the report online here: http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer

BiodivERsA3 has officially launched its 2015 pan-European joint call for research proposals. The call, co-funded by the European Commission, will focus on understanding and managing the biodiversity dynamics to improve ecosystem services and functioning.

BiodivERsA is a network of 29 research-funding agencies across 18 European countries. It is an ERA-NEt Co-fund, funded under the EU’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. BiodivERsA works to coordinate national research programmes on biodiversity across Europe and to organize international funding for research projects in this field.

The complete announcement on this call, including details on the topics, is listed here.

Scientific teams are invited to form international consortia comprising research groups from at least three countries participating in the BiodivERsA call. The complete list of participating countries can be found here.

The deadline for submission of pre-proposals (mandatory) is set on Monday 20 July 2015, 17:00 GMT +1:00. More information on the time schedule can be found here.

FishBase on the US and CA servers (www.fishbase.us and www.fishbase.ca) are now updated to version April 2015.

The annual EU BON General Meeting was successfully held from 1 to 4 June 2015 at the Clare College Conferencing, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 

The meeting was attended by a total of 85 participants with various organizational background and relation to EU BON. Among these were almost all EU BON alongside representatives of eight associate partners and many guests.

Participants at the EU BON General Meeting, 2015; Credit:  Dirk Schmeller

One of the highlights of the meeting was its very start with three inspiring keynote speakers. 

Among these, Bill Sutherland from the University of Cambridge started off to give an interesting speech about the progress and future plans on combining Biodiversity science and policy. Second was Gary Geller from the GEO secretariat who talked about GEO, GEOSS and GEO BON, its vision and goals. 
Later on, Johannes Peterseil from LTER-Europe shared some interesting thoughts about linking ecosystem research and earth observation through the cooperation between LTER-Europe and EU BON. 

During the meeting other relevant projects were also introduced to all participants. These were DataOne and Species 2000/Catalogue of Life and two new EU projects Ecopotential and Globis-B. 

The General Meeting included six thematic sessions on highly relevant EU BON topics, followed by many cross-task modules which led to better cooperation and communication between work packages and tasks. The exchange of experience gave new input to all work packages and set the milestones for the work ahead. 

Presentations from the meeting will be uploaded shortly.

PRESENTATIONS:

AGENDA - EU BON 3rd General Assembly

Keynote speakers: 

W.Sutherland - Biodiversity science and policy

G.Geller - GEO / GEOSS / GEOBON

J.Peterseil - Linking ecosystem research and earth observation

Other projects:

B.Wilson - DataONE

C.Flann - Species 2000 Catalogue of Life

C.Marangi - Ecopotential

W.Los - Globis-B

EU BON presentations:

C.Haeuser - EU BON core elements for an integrated biodiversity information system

U.Koljalg - Data mobilization strategy and show case

H.Saarenmaa - European biodiversity portal

Y.Gavish - Developing EU BON's site-specific portal

E.Regan - Stakeholder requirements

I.Geijzendorffer - Context of EU BON

Selection of pictures from the meeting:

The European Environmental Agency (EEA) has published its Annual Report describing the work carried out by the EEA in 2014. The EEA annual report includes the EMAS environmental statement 2014.

Download the report here.

The 2016 GEO BON Open Science Conference: "Biodiversity and ecosystem Services Monitoring for the 2020 Targets and beyond. Building on observations for user needs" will take place from 4 to 9 July 2016 in Leipzig, Germany. 

Biodiversity Science is facing enormous challenges as the pressures upon the earth’s biotic systems are rapidly intensifying and we are unlikely to reach the CBD 2020 Aichi Targets. But how far or close are we to reach the targets? The GEO BON Open Science Conference on "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Monitoring for the 2020 Targets and beyond" will assess this question. The conference is open to the wide scientific public and is sponsored and co-organized by iDiv, UFZ, SASCAL (others to come).

For more information please visit: http://conf2016.geobon.org

The report ‘EU 2010 biodiversity baseline - adapted to the MAES typology (2015)’ presents a revised overview of the EEA's EU 2010 biodiversity baseline report.

The revision is necessary because the typology of ecosystems used in the 2010 report has since been altered by a working group of biodiversity experts. The revised report provides recalculated information on the state and trends of the different biodiversity and ecosystem components, based on the new typology of ecosystems.

Find the report here.

The 2016 European Space Agency Living Planet Symposiumwill be held in Prague, Czech Republic from 9-13 May 2016 and is organised with the support of the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. The event follows previous successful symposia held in Edinburgh (2013), Bergen (2010), Montreux (2007) and Salzburg (2004).

The first announcement has been now released, with a deadline for abstract submission on 16 October 2015.

All received abstracts will be reviewed by a Scientific Committee, notification of acceptance will be provided in early February 2016. Registration to attend the event (free of charge) will be opened in February 2016, after the publication of the preliminary programme.

The objectives of the ESA Living Planet Symposium are to:

• Present  the  progress  and  plans for the implementation of ESA Earth Observation strategy and the relevance of ESA's EO Programme to societal challenges, science and economy.
• Provide an international forum to scientists, researchers and users to present and share state of the art results based on ESA's Earth Observation and third-party mission data.
• Review the development of Earth Observation applications.
• Present the Copernicus space component and operational services.
• Report on ESA’s Exploitation Programmes (i.e. Climate Change Initiative, SEOM, DUE, VAE, STSE).
• Introduce the current and future planned Earth Observation missions.
• Outline ESA’s international cooperation in the field of Earth Observation.
• Provide dedicated thematic tutorials and demonstrations.

For more information, please visit: http://lps16.esa.int 

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium) is part of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa in the FishBase database. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase program, the RMCA has five (5) grants available for a 3-month training program in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes.

The training will have three subsets:

1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes;
3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

This course has been offered annually since 2005 and is held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium). For more information and to apply for this three-month training grant, see: http://fishbase.africamuseum.be or www.fishbaseforafrica.org. Please note that for 2016, this course will be given in French only.

Questions? Contact Dimitri Geelhand de Merxem (dimitri.geelhand@africamuseum.be).

The 1st GLOBAQUA International Conference will be held on 11-12 January 2016 in Freising, Germany. The interdisciplinary conference will go under the motto "Managing The Effects Of Multiple Stressors On Aquatic Ecosystems Under Water Scarcity".

The conference will serve as a platform for exchange and discus­sion of innovative scientific findings and methods in aquatic ecosys­tems research. It will focus on novel methods of environmental monitor­ing and modeling of various scopes, scales and structural complexity to improve process understanding the interconnectivity and feedback mechanisms of climate (regional), land use (regional), economy, hydrol­ogy and hydraulics (catchment and river), water quality (river), biology and aquatic ecosystems (reach scale). Further, the conference builds the bridge to the scientific assessment of implications on policy and management.

The deadine for submitting an abstract for the conference has been now extended until 7 Nov 2015.

More information on the conference, registration, abstract submitting is available on the GLOBAQUA website.

The Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST), an initiative under the CETAF umbrella and managed by RBINS, has launched its training programme for 2015-2016.  

Check out the Expert-in-training programme enabling trainees to develop and strengthen their taxonomic research skills through on-the-job-training and the Modern Taxonomy programme offering intensive theoretical courses in various subjects.

The Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) was established within the framework of the EU funded project  European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT) and under the umbrella of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF). The EDIT consortium agreement lasted from March 2006 until March 2011. Since then, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) remains responsible for the continued management of DEST, organization of courses and related logistical matters. The DEST currently includes a network of around 100 training providers from 60 institutions.

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) marked its 10^th year with the theme, "ACB and ASEAN Member States: A Decade of Cooperation on Biodiversity Conservation."  The celebration covered a number of activities on 2 October 2015 at the College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Philippines. These included the groundbreaking ceremony of the new ACB headquarters; Tree Growing Activity at the "Tree World"; awarding of the Zooming in on Biodiversity Photo Contest Winners; and "Nawa'y Muli Tayong Makauwi," a musical theatre show on biodiversity conservation. 

The event provided ACB with an opportunity to promote the milestones of the Centre, and a venue for the ASEAN Member States, ACB and its partner organizations and countries to get together and further strengthen collaborations and reaffirm commitments to conserve the rich biodiversity of the ASEAN region.

Find more updates in the latest ASEAN Biodiversity Bulletin.

The Museum für Naturkunde and the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum are honored to be hosting the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) as well as the 2nd International Conference on Biodiversity Biobanking of the Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN) in Berlin from June, 20 to June, 25, 2016. The conferences will be held in parallel at the andel’s Hotel Berlin, Landsberger Allee.

• SPNHC conference web site: http://www.spnhc2016.berlin/, conference theme: "Green Museum – How to practice what we preach?"
• GGBN conference web site: https://meetings.ggbn.org/conference/ggbn/2016/index, conference theme: "Meeting the Challenge: How to Preserve a Cross-Section of the Tree of Life"

The registration for both conferences is now open. Please check the conference web sites for information on the conference program, field trips, social events, accommodation, registration and abstract submission. All social events and field trips as well as the opening session on Tuesday are joint events for attendees of both conferences. During lunch and coffee breaks one will have the chance to visit the vendor booths and chat with attendees of both conferences. The sessions of both conferences cover complementary topics to avoid duplications.

Registration for the "10th GEO European Projects Workshop" is now open until 2 May 2016. The event this year will take place in Berlin, Germany, spanning over three days from 31 May to 2 June 2016.

To register and learn more, please click here.

An EU BON-Team  from the Museum für Naturkunde  will also organize a Break Out Session at the event. The dedicated session #11 is called "Challenges for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Observation for the Next Ten Years", where several EU-projects will present their current and future activities with regards to biodiversity and ecosystem data, knowledge and contributions to the GEO work. This will be followed by interactive World Cafés:

1. World Café desk I: EEA and policy – data/model/portal needs.
2. World Café desk II: Follow-up joint products of GEO EU Biodiversity projects.
3. World Café desk III: Strengthening the in-situ approach in GEO by biodiversity and ecosystem-related projects.
4. World Café desk IV: Connecting with other GEO Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs), e.g. Agriculture, Health.

The 10th GEO European Projects Workshop took place from 31 May until 2 June 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Representatives from science, business and public administration met in Berlin to discuss how European Earth observation initiatives can contribute to the Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS).

The workshop, was jointly organised by the European Commission, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure of Germany, and the Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science. A  wide range of events gave projects the opportunity to showcase their work and findings and discuss the future of earth observations. The event also featured a series of world cafés where, in a more informal and relaxed environment, experts could discuss topics focused on different aspects and challenges for biodiversity and ecosystem observation for the next ten years.

Group photo of the participants at the 10th GEO European Projects Workshop; Credit: H. Götz

During the meeting EU BON was presented at a specialized session focusing on the "Challenges for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Observation for the Next Ten Years". EU BON’s co-ordinator Dr. Christoph Häuser alongside project partner and WP2 leader Dr. Hannu Saarenmaa presented the latest project developments and results.

#GEPW16 @EUBON1 Christoph Häuser: gaps in biodiversity data in Europe pic.twitter.com/4j02nlUUxJ

— ENEON (@ENEONetwork) June 2, 2016

Special attention was paid to presenting and explaining the functionalities of the recently launched beta version of the EU BON European Biodiversity Portal, which aims to provide a substantial part of GEO BON’s Global Portal.

  


Clockwise from top left: Dr. Christoph Häuser presenting EU BON; Audience of the 10th GEO Projects Workshop; Panel at the Biodiversity and Ecosystem session; Credits: Florian Wetzel, Hwaja Götz and Anke Hoffmann.

For further information see:

Presentations

General Programme

Find out more resources on the official event webpage.

Europe’s regions are facing rising sea levels and more extreme weather, such as more frequent and more intense heatwaves, flooding, droughts and storms due to climate change, according to the latest European Environment Agency report published on 25 Jan 2017. The report assesses the latest trends and projections on climate change and its impacts across Europe and finds that better and more flexible adaptation strategies, policies and measures will be crucial to lessen these impacts.

Find a summary of the report's Key Findings, or download the full report.