7. Taking the pulse of the ocean: measuring the current marine biodiversity state and how it impacts us
This theme is open to all monitoring programs, networks and activities, to share their history, progress, status and lessons learnt. Above all, we want to know how their work has impacted our knowledge of the marine environment and how they see themselves moving forward, discussing technological innovations to monitor marine biodiversity, and how different monitoring programs can interact with each other to improve data interoperability.
7.1 The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON): advancing marine biodiversity observations and data management
Convenors:
Isabel Sousa Pinto (CIIMAR, University of Porto)
Frank Muller-Karger (IMaRS, College of Marine Science, University of South Florida)
Summary:
Knowledge about marine biodiversity is fundamental to managing and conserving ecosystem services. Historically, decisions about living resources and ocean uses have often been based on physical and chemical data. Emerging technologies now make it possible to include biology and ecology observations in survey and monitoring programs at local and regional scales. There are new data management standards, such as the Darwin Core and MiXS data formats, that allow for the publication of data to interoperable databases. There are also advances in the definition of minimum sets of Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) that allow the construction of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs). This helps address specific user problems, monitor biodiversity and ecosystem status and trends, and improve forecasting scenarios. The ability to focus on monitoring is critical as we see growing interest in the development of coastal and marine spaces.
Leveraging on international collaborations fostered by the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) of GEO BON, the Marine Life 2030 Programme of the UN Ocean Decade, and associated programs including the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), the session brings stakeholders and rightsholders together to showcase the progress done by the marine community and to promote the integration of Biology and Ecosystems observations into coastal and ocean observing systems and monitoring programs. We look forward to discussions on the integration of knowledge into policies. An increase in coordination, capacity development, and implementation efforts is required in the standardisation or at least interoperability in the collection, analysis, and delivery of biodiversity observations. We look forward to ideas on how to achieve this together, as a network of collaborators.
These approaches may be scaled and aggregated to satisfy national reporting requirements for targets of SDGs, the Kunming-Montreal GBF, and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
7.2 Integrating novel technologies into traditional coastal monitoring programmes to enhance marine biodiversity knowledge
Convenors:
Annelies De Backer (Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food - ILVO)
Jasmin Renz (Senckenberg Society for Nature Research)
Summary:
Cost-effective monitoring of marine coastal biodiversity is critical for documenting ecosystem health, detecting changes, and informing conservation strategies. Traditional monitoring programs provide invaluable long-term data, yet integrating advanced technologies could significantly enhance their efficiency, accuracy, and scope. Within this session we want to focus on how cuttingedge tools—such as molecular methods (eDNA, metabarcoding), video equipment with automated image analysis and artificial intelligence—can be integrated into existing monitoring programmes to improve biodiversity assessments. We want to especially focus on coastal monitoring programmes that target benthic communities including meroplanktonic larvae and benthic adult stages.
By bridging the gap between traditional approaches and innovative technologies, we can refine species detection, track ecosystem changes in near real-time, and increase our insights into the spatio-temporal dynamics of benthic communities. Alongside this enormous potential, technological developments bring new challenges as well, such as ensuring quality control of sequence data or massive image datasets, data storage and sharing, intercalibration of instruments and methods, development of processing and classification algorithms, and extending observations over time by comparison with traditional sampling. This session invites researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to share case studies of coastal areas where advanced methods have been implemented alongside traditional methods, discuss methodological advancements, and present best standards for technology integration.
7.3 Animal movement, behaviour and biologging
Convenors:
Jan Reubens (Flanders Marine Institute) (to be confirmed)
Pieterjan Verhelst (Research Institute for Nature and Forest) (to be confirmed)
Summary:
Animal tracking, the practice of monitoring and studying animal movements and behaviour in their natural environment from a distance, can be performed across various spatial (local, regional, continental, global) and temporal (minutes to decades) scales using a suit of tools and technologies.Tracking fish with acoustic transmitters, following bird migrations with GPS tags, assessing wildlife presence with camera traps and monitoring presence of marine mammals with passive acoustics are all interesting examples of animal tracking. Advantages of the practice are the possibility to gather robust data over extended temporal periods, regardless of weather conditions and other logistically challenging situations, with minimal environmental disturbance and no or very little inference with the individual behaviour. Animal tracking has yielded key information about the biology and ecology of organisms, and has afforded useful insights to establish conservation frameworks and regulations. In addition, it allows to model distribution and forecast the effects of anthopogenic activities on the animals. Technological advancements resulted in an enhanced capacity for animal tracking and is transforming our understanding of the ecosystems and the animals that live within them.
7.4 Plankton biodiversity observation for ocean health
Convenors:
Michael Cunliffe (Marine Biological Association)
Clare Ostle (Marine Biological Association)
Summary:
Marine plankton biodiversity is vast, covering a spectacular range of taxonomic groups, forms and sizes. Plankton are crucial to marine ecosystems, including as the foundations of food webs, sustaining biogeochemical cycles and delivering a range of other important ecosystem services. Observing the status and changes in plankton biodiversity over time and space are key to determining ocean health and marine ecosystem sustainability. To do this, many regional and international scale programmes have been established (e.g. Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey) or are emerging (e.g. European Marine Omics Biodiversity Observation Network (EMO BON)) to monitor plankton biodiversity. A range of approaches are now available to assess plankton biodiversity, including via traditional microscopy, in situ imaging, satellites, ecosystem modelling and with contemporary biomolecular tools such as with eDNA. Together these different approaches for plankton observing represent challenges and opportunities now and for the future.
This session will bring together researchers that are monitoring marine plankton biodiversity, including those involved with long term programmes and observation networks. The session will incorporate those utilising different approaches to plankton biodiversity assessment, considering both traditional and emerging methodologies. Together we will empathise the critical importance of plankton biodiversity monitoring as a key driver in understanding and assessment of marine environmental status, sharing lessons learnt and ideas on how we can progress together for a healthy ocean.
7.5 New Technology for Biodiversity Monitoring Innovations and Challenges to Implementation
Convenors:
Nicolas Pade (European Marine Biological Resource Centre - EMBRC)
Jacob Carstensen (Aarhus University)
Summary:
The four projects MARCO-BOLO, OBAMA-Next, DIVERSEA, and Phytodiverse are aimed at developing new technology and approaches for monitoring marine biodiversity at different scales and detail. They cover diverse approaches, including eDNA, imaging, modelling, and remote sensing. We are at a time of biodiversity crises and novel technologies have the potential of providing significant advances in our knowledge of marine biodiversity and provide the baseline information that we need to determine the health of our ecosystems. It is important that new technology and approaches are given visibility and scrutinised to ensure their accuracy and suitability. However, knowledge of them and their capabilities needs to be shared to develop effective monitoring systems and observation programmes.
The session will have subsessions dedicated to groups of technologies: biomolecular, imagine, new knowledge from data (modelling and prediction), and remote sensing. Each subsession will address their application, what they can contribute to our understanding of marine biodiversity and ecosystems, their maturity, and weaknesses. Each subsession will finish with a discussion and with input and contributions from the floor.
Generating suitable information is crucial in the evaluation of biodiversity health, however the information must also be made available to diverse stakeholders, including scientists, companies, and decision makers. The session will finish with a discussion on how to make the information and data available to different stakeholders.
The session is dedicated to theme 7 as these technologies are the tools for taking the pulse of ocean life. They are the instruments that will shape and be used in future monitoring and observation programmes. Monitoring and observing marine biodiversity requires many different approaches and this proposed session will present many novel approaches. Finally, the use of the data and its availability is also crucial, so the session will also touch on theme 6.
7.6 Innovative and large-scale approaches for biodiversity observation in pelagic ecosystems
Convenors:
Klaas Deneudt (Flanders Marine Institute)
Nicolas Pade (European Marine Biological Resource Centre - EMBRC)
Summary:
Understanding biodiversity in pelagic ecosystems requires coordinated, international observation efforts utilizing advanced and large-scale approaches. The proposed session, “Innovative and largescale approaches for biodiversity observation in pelagic ecosystems,” highlights established and emerging developments in environmental genomics (eDNA), plankton imaging, and acoustic monitoring techniques within collaborative international research programs. Contributions will emphasize how coordinated, multinational initiatives integrate these cutting-edge technologies to provide comprehensive, long-term and large-scale biodiversity and ocean health assessments across coastal and open-ocean environments. Presenters are invited to share case studies, results from ongoing international observational networks, and experiences addressing logistical and methodological challenges. The presentations will demonstrate how new approaches offer new possibilities for collecting essential biodiversity information and on how international cooperation enhances the effectiveness of biodiversity monitoring, strengthens ecosystem management, and informs global ocean policy and conservation efforts.
