A taxonomic and biogeographic information system of marine species in the southern North Sea developed by Flanders Marine Institute

Aphia is a register of marine species that the Marine Data and Information Centre of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) has built and maintains since its establishment nearly five years ago. This species register (Aphia) serves as a taxonomic backbone in the management of biological data obtained by our own efforts and those coming from various national and international projects and databases. Currently, Aphia holds 20,000 taxa, including 10,000 species names of which 2,200 are relegated to synonymy. Remaining names are those of higher hierarchical levels from the systematic classification. Besides pure taxonomy, Aphia contains about 3,000 vernacular names (mainly Dutch, English, French and German) and 4,000 notes regarding species biology, ecology, distribution, habitat, taxonomy and systematics among others. All the information is referred to its source, which can be a publication, an expert or a database. More recently, VLIZ started storing distribution records for the Southern North Sea. We now have nearly 40,000 distribution records for 400 localities. By screening literature, from recent works to those dating back to the mid nineteenth century, we intend to get a more complete overview of our current and historical biodiversity. In addition, documenting nomenclature changes, recording synonymy and storing every species record will help in correctly interpreting old and grey literature. The structure of the database corresponds to the international formats of both the European Register of Marine Species (ERMS) and the International Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). It will be possible to give taxonomic input to ITIS and ERMS. Our biogeographic system is now already linked with and provides data to the European node of the global Ocean Biogeographic Information System (EurOBIS).Maintaining our species register and storing biogeographic information is a work in progress, which falls within VLIZ’s core activities of documenting and integrating marine biodiversity data

Proceedings Ocean Biodiversity Informatics: International Conference on Marine Biodiversity Data Management, Hamburg, Germany 29 November to 1 December, 2004

The International conference on Marine Biodiversity Data management ‘Ocean Biodiversity Informatics’ was held in Hamburg, Germany, from 29 November to 1 December 2004. Its objective was to offer a forum to marine biological data managers to discuss the state of the field, and to exchange ideas on how to further develop marine biological data systems. Many marine biologists are actively gathering knowledge, as they have been doing for a long time. What is new is that many of these scientists are willing to share their knowledge, including basic data, with others over the Internet. Our challenge now is to try and manage this trend, avoid confusing users with a multitude of contradicting sources of information, and make sure different data systems can be and are effectively integrated

Europe counts marine life

Over 500 marine scientists are working together within the framework of MarBEF - a European network of excellence, which started in March 2004. Of all the seas, the European seas are among the most studied in the world. By bringing this expertise and knowledge together, MarBEF aims at a better understanding of long-term and large-scale distribution patterns and functionalities of biodiversity across marine ecosystems. To inventory this wealth of marine life, the European Register of Marine Species (ERMS), at this moment containing nearly 30,000 species names, is adopted and will serve as the reference list and taxonomic backbone within MarBEF. ERMS has been put into a relational database and will be maintained and regularly updated online by a consortium of taxonomic experts. The taxonomic register will be supplemented with biogeographic, ecological and socio-economic information, together with species illustrations, original descriptions and vernacular names. When available, links will be provided with other online species information systems. EurOBIS, the European node of the Ocean biogeographic Information System, is a distributed system that integrates individual datasets on biogeographic information into one large consolidated database and provides the end-user with a fully searchable geographic interface. EurOBIS already captures and freely communicates over 350,000 distribution data from 14,000 species, online. When combining these data with biological, physical, chemical and geologic data, our understanding of the ecosystem will greatly improve, resulting in better ecosystem-based management plans. The Flanders Marine Institute is taking a leading role in these major European data integrating projects within MarBEF and has recently developed online tools for ERMS and EurOBIS (http://www.marbef.org/data)

Differential food preferences in three co-occurring species of <i>Tisbe</i> (Copepoda, Harpacticoida)

Killed samples of a monoclonal bacterial strain and an axenic alga were offered in different proportions to Tisbe holothuriae, T. battagliai and T. furcata. Incorporation of carbon ranged from 0.05 and 0.39 µg C (adult male)-1 d-1. Using a radiolabelling technique, the ratio in which the two food types were assimilated was compared to the ratio in which they were offered. Neither T. holothuriae nor its sibling species fed selectively under our conditions, but T. furcata showed a clear preference for bacteria. These findings constitute the first evidence for intrageneric dietary differentiation in harpacticoids. The results of the feeding experiments parallel observed differences in mandible structure. They render all the more acute the problem of resource partitioning between T. holothuriae and T. battagliai

EurOBIS & Co

The Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) is a distributed system that allows to search multiple datasets simultaneously for biogeographic information on marine organisms. This distributed system integrates individual datasets on marine organisms into one large consolidated database. EurOBIS has been developed within the MarBEF network and is the European node of OBIS. Within EurOBIS the European Register of Marine Species (ERMS) functions as the taxonomic backbone; the European Marine Gazetteer as the geographical reference list, and the Integrated Marine Information System as the inventory of relevant data and other information.The MarBEF data system is available at: http://www.marbef.org/data

Aphia for a World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)

An authoritative and global register of all marine species is urgently needed to facilitate biological data management and exchange, the integration of ecological and biodiversity data with non-biological ocean data, and to assist taxonomists in describing new species, revisions and correcting past nomenclatural confusion. The exercise of producing this list has added benefits in fostering collaboration between experts at a global scale and maintaining taxonomic expertise. Easy access to the register will allow local ecologists and biologists to use correct taxonomic names, and will encourage addition of overlooked species to the list. This will in turn stimulate a.o. biodiversity Species’(WoRMS) is the logical next step for ocean biodiversity informatics (OBI) to become an everyday and essential supporting infrastructure for the marine sciences, monitoring and environmental management. WoRMS is a standards based, quality controlled, expert validated, open-access infrastructure for research, education, and data and resource management. It builds on experience in developing the European Register of Marine Species and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, and will collaborate with and contribute to the GBIF’s ECAT and planned Global Names Architecture, Species 2000, the Catalogue of Life, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, the Encyclopaedia of Life, SeaLifeBase, IOC’s International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange, and related initiatives. The Aphia database, developed and maintained by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), serves as the IT platform for WoRMS. Currently, well over 100 world leading taxonomists are contributing towards this World Register WoRMS webportal and all its functionalities, such as the web-based services and the online edit tool for the taxonomic experts. For further details see http://www.marinespecies.org