International Conference on Marine Biodiversity Data Management

Hamburg, Germany: 29/11-1/12/2004

Organised by:

·         Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO – International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IOC/IODE, http://www.iode.org)

·         Census of Marine Life – Ocean Biogeographic Information System (CoML/OBIS, http://www.iobis.org)

·         International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES; http://www.ices.dk)

·         International Association of Biological Oceanography (IABO)

·         Flanders Marine Institute (Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee – VLIZ; http://www.vliz.be)

With support from the European Union

First announcement and call for papers

Potential contributors to the conference are invited to submit an abstract of 400-600 words (no figures, no tables), prior to 31 May 2004, to the conference secretariat at VLIZ (address see below). The guidelines for preparing poster and Powerpoint presentations will be communicated in the 2^nd announcement (June, 2004).

Background

We know very little about the biodiversity in the world’s oceans. But one thing is sure: the diversity of the type of data and information that is stored in data systems around the world is increasing dramatically. While well-managed databases with global coverage used to be restricted to geophysical sciences, this is no longer true. In two important meetings, the first in Hamburg in 1996, the second in Brussels in 2002, biologists have discussed how to take an example from the physical oceanographers, and to formulate plans on how to work together to integrate individual databases. In the workshop held in Hamburg in 1996, discussions were held on how to improve the quantity and quality of chemical and biological data available to the scientific community. The specific purpose of the workshop was to provide recommendations to guide management of chemical and biological oceanographic data by the Programme on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

Biological data managers met with their physical oceanography colleagues during the ‘Colour of Ocean Data’ symposium held in Brussels, 25-27 November 2002. While it was realised there that the needs of biological data managers were different from those of physical oceanographers, it was stressed that commonalities are more important than differences. Some applications were presented that demonstrated the power of collaboration across disciplines.

Developments in technology have made possible new approaches to data sharing and dissemination. Distributed databases are becoming a reality, and the advantages of a distributed system now far outweigh the extra cost of technical complexities to create them. The Census of Marine Life (CoML), and its data management programme Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), is making this happen for marine biogeography.

Several initiatives exist to compile lists of taxonomic names – some for specific taxa, or for a restricted geographical area, some global in geographic and taxonomic scope. While not long ago it was difficult to find any information at all, now the Internet user is confronted with a large number of possible sources, but without an indication of the quality of the proffered information.

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.

Objectives

The conference topics will be restricted to marine biological data management – taxon-based, biogeography but also environmental, non-taxon based data management. Specific objectives are to

·         Learn how and why researchers have used large-scale marine biodiversity databases to make major discoveries about the functioning and state of ocean ecosystems.

·         Bring together biological data managers to discuss the present state, and progress, in this field since the meetings in Hamburg (1996) and Brussels (2002).

·         Discuss standards and protocols for data exchange. Take note of new developments such as Distributed Generic Information Retrieval (DiGIR) and OBIS, and discuss how this will influence biological data management in general.

·         Provide an opportunity for biological data managers to find out what is happening at IODE National Oceanographic Data Centres and marine research agencies from around the world.

·         Discuss potential gaps and overlaps in the taxonomic and geographic scope of existing data systems. How can we, as a community, ensure that we are covering the whole field, and that no taxonomic groups are left behind? How can we make maximal use of resources, and avoid overlaps?

·         How do we integrate data from separate databases into large datasets that will enable us to provide answers on the global cover and long time scales that we need?

Sessions

The conference will be organised as a series of five consecutive thematic sessions, with a final session dedicated to a panel discussion. Each of these thematic sessions will have a corresponding poster session. In an opening session, several acknowledged experts will be asked to review the field.

Proposed themes for the sessions are

·         Taxonomic and biogeographic data management

·         Environmental data management

·         User requirements for environmental and biological ocean data and data products

·         Ocean data management in relation to international organisations

·         Case studies

·         Panel discussion:

•      What is our target audience, and how effectively are we reaching it?

•      How do we integrate individual databases into datasets that allow large-scale, long-term analyses? What is the role of international organisations such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the IOC and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in this? What is the role of CoML and OBIS, and of GBIF? Which others have a role to play?

•      How do we avoid overlap and duplication of effort? How do we avoid gaps in taxonomic/geographical coverage?

•      What mechanisms are we using now, or do we plan to use in the future, to disseminate data? What should we do to persuade data providers to make their data available?

Proceedings

Negotiations are currently under way to publish the proceedings as a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal. More details will be announced as soon as they become available.

Who to contact

Local host: Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH, Germany)

Organising committee: Sunhild Wilhelms (BSH), Edward Vanden Berghe (IOC/IODE and VLIZ), Peter Pissierssens (IOC/IODE), Mark J. Costello (OBIS), Friedrich Nast (BSH)

Scientific Committee: Mark J. Costello (OBIS), Fred Grassle (CoML), Syd Levitus (World Data Centre for Oceanography, Silver Springs), Peter Pissierssens (IOC/IODE), Tony Rees (OBIS), Lesley Rickards (British Oceanographic Data Centre, Chair ICES Working Group on Marine Data Management, Chair IODE), Edward Vanden Berghe (VLIZ, Chair IODE GE-BCDMEP), Sunhild Wilhelms

Conference secretariat:

Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)

            Vismijn, Pakhuizen 45-52

            B-8400 Oostende

            Belgium

            Email: obi@vliz.be