OBIS: Ocean Biodiversity Information System

📣 Tune in this Friday, April 17, 1-2 pm UTC and join us in a special session focusing on Marine Protected Areas. We will explore findings from the MPA Europe Project and challenge common myths about MPAs, highlighting how fully protected areas can restore biodiversity and support fisheries. 🗣 Mark Costello; Moderator: Vanessa Yepes-Narváez 📌 More info and registration 👇 https://bit.ly/4bXJyu3 #MarineConservation #MPAs #Biodiversity #OceanScience Nord universitet INVEMAR GEO BON UN Ocean Decade AIR Centre - Atlantic International Research Centre EuroMarine Network U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) OBIS: Ocean Biodiversity Information System

📢 Job opportunities in the global ocean and climate community! The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and its partners are looking for skilled professionals to support international cooperation in ocean science, climate research, capacity development and global environmental governance. Discover and apply to our current openings: 🔵 IWC11 Technical Lead - GEF International Waters Conference Lead the technical content of the world’s largest global forum on transboundary waters, bringing together 300+ participants from 70+ countries. 🗓️ Deadline: 25 March 2026, 17:00 CET ➡️ Apply: https://lnkd.in/dti7VfhU 🔵 Consultant – OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA) e‑Learning & Platform Support Support IOC’s OTGA programme in maintaining and upgrading its global learning platform, assisting with course design, delivery and new e‑learning tools. 🗓️ Deadline: 31 March 2026, 17:00 CET ➡️ Apply: https://lnkd.in/d8ePrqfp 🔵 Web Developer - UN Ocean Decade Ocean Connector platform Support the Ocean Decade’s interactive platform, the Ocean Connector, by implementing secure OTP login features and maintaining a key global collaboration tool. 🗓️ Deadline: 1st April 2026, 17:00 CET ➡️ Apply: https://lnkd.in/dVSRZZeE 🔵 Science and Communications Officer – World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), a joint programme of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and the International Science Council (ICS), is looking for a Science and Communications Officer, to be based in Geneva at the World Meteorological Organization. 🗓️ Deadline: 6 April 2026, 23:59 CET ➡️ Apply: https://lnkd.in/dTjpAcEG Join us in turning ocean science and knowledge into action! #OceanScience #OceanAction

🔵 As the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO works to strengthen global ocean observations and ensure open, accessible data, its OBIS: Ocean Biodiversity Information System Nodes play a vital role in bringing local knowledge to the global stage. With 36 Nodes worldwide, OBIS connects local and regional scientific communities to the global OBIS platform. Through coordination groups, the Nodes share expertise, support one another, and contribute to OBIS governance and strategic decisions. ✅ They work closely with institutions to publish, standardize, and quality‑control biodiversity data, ensuring that locally collected information is ready for seamless integration into global systems and supports the IOC’s mission to turn ocean observations into trusted, actionable knowledge. Capacity development is central to their impact. In 2025, the Nodes organized 62 training sessions (many in LDCs) covering practical skills from data‑sharing best practices to Darwin Core mapping. The new OBIS‑LAC working group is further strengthening data mobilization in Latin America and the Caribbean. Whether run by a single expert or a larger team, every Node contributes essential expertise. Together, they make OBIS a truly global, collaborative, and inclusive initiative — where global ocean knowledge begins with local action. Dive into OBIS' data 🔗 http://obis.org #OceanScience #OceanAction 

How can we close the gaps in ocean biodiversity data and build a stronger digital ocean ecosystem to advance marine knowledge? At the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity #WCMB26, taking place on 17–20 November, in Bruges, Belgium, OBIS: Ocean Biodiversity Information System and the Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Data Sharing are co-organising a session on "Enhancing ocean data sharing: Addressing data gaps in marine biodiversity through the UN Ocean Decade." The session will explore challenges and solutions for improving access, sharing, and integration of ocean biodiversity data. Are you interested in bringing your voice to the conversation? Propose your abstract and join us on stage! We welcome contributions addressing topics such as: 🔹 Ocean biodiversity data gaps 🔹 Challenges and perspectives on sharing and integrating ocean biodiversity data 🔹 Unlocking private-sector data 🔹 Recommended tools and initiatives for data sharing ⏰ Deadline to submit your abstract: 17 March 2026 (there will be no extension!) https://lnkd.in/e99S6UB7 🟢 Read more about the sessions at #WCMB2026: https://lnkd.in/euP9db8m ➡️ Early Career Ocean Professionals from the Global South (BSc/MSc/PhD or junior postdoc, under 35) can apply for one of 10 full participation grants https://lnkd.in/evDJGMPh The work of the Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Data Sharing is made possible through the support of Fondation ENGIE. UN Ocean Decade Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO

👀 Did you know? Ocellaris clownfish rely on a remarkable partnership with sea anemones, gaining protection from predators while helping their hosts stay healthy. But this iconic symbiosis is more vulnerable than it appears. In many regions, scientists still lack comprehensive information on population fluctuations, habitat preferences, connectivity between wild populations, and how local stressors interact with broader climate impacts. Better data is essential to understand how resilient this symbiotic partnership truly is, and how to protect it. 🔵 Access to reliable, trusted data is essential for evidence‑based science, conservation, and policy. OBIS: Ocean Biodiversity Information System, led by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, helps fill these knowledge gaps by ensuring that global marine biodiversity data is rigorously quality‑controlled and openly accessible. #OceanScience #OceanAction 📷: Kogia - Michele du Plooy

💡 Access to reliable, trusted data is essential for evidence-based science, conservation, and policy. OBIS: Ocean Biodiversity Information System, a programme led by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, ensures data reliability through a robust, community-based quality control process. The OBIS quality control process includes: 🔵 Initial formatting: OBIS uses the Darwin Core standard to ensure consistent structure for scientific names, locations, dates, depths, and metadata. 🔵 Manual curation by OBIS Nodes: The 36 national, regional, and thematic Nodes support local data providers, resolving issues early and improving submission quality. 🔵 Automated quality control: OBIS-QC checks geolocation, date, depth, and measurement precision, identifying anomalies such as land-based coordinates. It also adds metadata like marine regions and environmental parameters. 🔵 Automated taxonomic verification: All species names are cross-referenced with WoRMS (maintained by VLIZ - Flanders Marine Institute) to validate taxonomy, catch misspellings and outdated synonyms, and flag non-marine species. Once processed, datasets are indexed on obis.org with metadata and quality control flags, and each receives a report to help providers address issues in future updates. Users can filter data according to their needs. 🤝 Trust in OBIS data is crucial: it underpins the entire marine life knowledge chain, ensuring researchers, decision-makers, journalists, learners, citizens, and educators worldwide can rely on it. Dive into OBIS' data 🔗 http://obis.org #OceanScience #OceanAction #MarineLifeDataYouCanTrust