5th Word Conference on Marine Biodiversity - Save the Date!

The 5th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity will take place at the University of Auckland on the 13 – 16 December 2020.

Please follow the link for more information: https://www.wcmb2020.org/call-for-submissions/

Special symposia proposed for the 5th WCMB 2020 - OBIS celebrates 20 years. The power of integrated data

Organiser: Ward Appeltans w.appeltans@unesco.org

Playing a central role in fostering data sharing of marine species observations for 20 years, the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) (formerly Ocean Biogeographic Information System) has built the world’s most comprehensive database (including around 59 million distribution records) on the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the ocean. After two decades of OBIS, we want to reflect on its achievements, shortcomings, and progresses assessing our performance and improving our services, including the various OBIS tools and products. During this session, we invite contributions to illustrate how OBIS has been used in a multitude of ways (in taxonomy, biogeography, biodiversity indicators, area-based management, climate change research, science-policy assessment, etc), but also look ahead and identify challenges and opportunities for OBIS to respond to new demands for ocean data and information services. In response to the urgent needs imposed by our changing planet, this session will highlight OBIS as a critical component in accelerating the pace of scientific exploration and discovery. Discussions and outcomes from this session will contribute to global and regional efforts to build a sustained, globally coordinated observing system on the status and trends of marine biodiversity and habitats.