LifeWatch ERIC Training Platform

Description

The manuals provided here cover the PlutoF platform and offer a detailed guide to the management, annotation, analysis, and publication of biological and biodiversity data. BMD recommends the use of the PlutoF platform for the mobilisation of eDNA datasets to GBIF.

Learning Objectives

• Learn to navigate and use the PlutoF interface;
• Master the use of the data import and taxonomic modules;
• Manage and publish biological and eDNA datasets on platforms such as GBIF.

Target Audience

Researchers, biologists, natural resource managers, and students interested in the management and publication of biodiversity and eDNA data.

Background

Wetlands are the living space for many (protected) species, as well as migratory birds, and are crucial in providing habitats and water-related ecosystem services. However, pressures such as land reclamation, intense resource exploitation, changes in hydrology, and pollution threaten wetlands.

This resource was developed within the European project RESTORE4Cs, which aims to create ways to better manage and protect European coastal wetlands and their vital environmental and climate functions. It aims to raise awareness and provide training on the management, conservation, and restoration of European coastal wetlands, illustrating their ecological characteristics, the vital ecosystem services they provide for the environment and climate, anthropogenic threats, and protection strategies.

Learning Objectives

This learning material will help:

• Define wetland types and their features;
• Describe the ecological services provided by coastal wetlands;
• Localise important wetland regions across Europe.

Target Audience

Lower and upper secondary school students; anyone interested in learning about basic principles of coastal ecology and sustainability.

Production

RESTORE4Cs and LifeWatch ERIC

What Marine SABRES is about

The Marine SABRES School Competition 2025

By registering to the Marine SABRES School Competition 2025, you will tutor your students in playing an online serious game.

Your student will discover more about the links between humans activities, changes in marine ecosystems, and impact on our well-being.

Welcome to the RESTORE4Cs project!

If you are a child aged six to ten and want explore the distinctive ecosystems of Castelporziano, play this Scientific game. This Scientific game has been created in collaboration with Castelporziano Presidential Estate, National Academy of Sciences.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the serious game, participants will be able to:

• Identify and describe the various ecosystems present within the Castelporziano preserve;
• Explore the sand dune ecosystem to recognize its native wildlife and learn how to protect its natural habitat;
• Discover the plant and animal biodiversity across the local woodlands and open fields.

Are you a high school student? Here you can discover the biodiversity heritage of Castelporziano, exploring the ecosystems and species that inhabit them. This Scientific game has been created in collaboration with Castelporziano Presidential Estate, National Academy of Sciences.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this game, players will be able to:

• Evaluate the unique characteristics of Castelporziano's ecosystems and their role in supporting key species of high ecological value;
• Analyze the spatial distribution of local wildlife, focusing on how species interactions and environmental factors shape their territories;
• Understand biodiversity management and conservation strategies, highlighting the importance of continuous monitoring to preserve the estate's natural heritage.

The European eel is one of the most mysterious species of fish in the world. Their migration and spawning life cycles are one of nature's greatest unsolved mysteries. After growing in freshwater and coastal ecosystems in Europe, eels travel back over the Atlantic to the Sargasso Sea to spawn and die. This epic migration is hampered however, due to numerous obstacles blocking their journey. Commercial fishing, pumping plants, dams, weirs, hydropower stations and habitat pollution pose the biggest threat to the eel survival. This is attributing to the 98% decline in the European eel population, making it a critically endangered species. To better understand these migration barriers, Belgian scientists are tagging eels and tracking their journey. This provides information of when eels migrate and what triggers them (precipitation, temperature and discharge) and can aid environmental management to act more effectively when protecting eels during peak migration periods, and working to preserve the eel population.

Learning Objectives

Through gameplay, players will be able to:

• Explore the unique scientific characteristics and behavioral patterns of the European eel;
• Trace the complex migration routes and spawning life cycles across diverse aquatic environments;
• Navigate the natural and human-made obstacles that threaten eels during their perilous seaward journey.

Play this serious game designed to engage students in protecting the Mediterranean Sea and provide hands-on experience with the scientific research methods applied to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Through an interactive, fun, and educational experience, participants will explore ecological challenges critical to our marine ecosystem, such as biodiversity, underwater noise, eutrophication, and alien species, while learning the key principles of the European directive. The resource was developed as part of the MEDCIS project, aimed at the coordinated monitoring and protection of the ecological status of the Mediterranean Sea.

Learning Objectives

In this serious game, players will achieve the following learning objectives:

• Demonstrate foundational knowledge of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) to unlock the initial stages of the journey;
• Master core definitions and key concepts governing the directives of marine conservation;
• Analyze and apply the specific articles of the Directive to successfully solve game challenges.

This serious game, developed as part of the European project ECOPOTENTIAL, guides participants in evaluating and learning key concepts regarding the geography and ecology of major European wetlands, while integrating fundamental principles of the scientific method and the distinction between qualitative and quantitative approaches. To test your knowledge about the major European wetlands, their geography and ecology, play here.

Learning Objectives

Once you've finished playing, you will have:

• Consolidated your knowledge of the geography of Europe's main wetlands;
• Deeper your knowledge of the ecology of European wetlands;
• Understood the phases of the scientific method and been able to classify and distinguish qualitative and quantitative approaches in research.

The Ocean supports our communities, but human activities are straining its delicate balance. Through this serious game-based journey, you will explore the unbreakable bond between marine ecosystems and human well-being. You are about to start a journey to discover how human activities can change coastal and marine ecosystems and their essential functioning. Ready? Play now. This serious game was created in the context of the Marine SABRES project.

Learning Objectives

This game will help you to:

• Identify human activities that rely on marine ecosystems across Europe;
• Describe how human activities can change marine ecosystems' functioning;
• Explain how disruption of marine ecosystems can affect human well-being.

Embark on a new adventure in the heart of the ocean to discover how our planet remains alive and habitable thanks to the delicate balance of marine life. Developed as part of the European Marine SABRES project, this game challenges you to manage coastal resources and promote fair, low-impact fishing. Through dynamic and immersive challenges, you will master ecosystem concepts and the seven fundamental principles of Ocean Literacy, becoming a true guardian of our seas.Play now.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the game, you will be able to:

• Understand the ocean's crucial role in making Earth habitable and supporting biodiversity;
• Recognize the inextricable link between human activities and the health of marine ecosystems;
• Promote and evaluate the sustainability and equity of low-impact fishing practices.

Buckle up for a journey through the history of technology! Embark on a trip starting from the very first calculating machines and land in the universe of data science. Prove you have what it takes to master every level. The journey begins now! The resource was developed as part of ENVRIplus, a Horizon 2020 project that brings together Environmental and Earth System research infrastructures, projects, and networks.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the game, the player will be capable of:

• Map and review one's background regarding the history of computing machines;
• Assess understanding of the operation of computational e-Infrastructures and the EGI ecosystem;
• Verify mastery of Data Science concepts and the operational tools used by data scientists in real-world research contexts.

MEDREGION Scientific Gaming allows to study and apply the method of scientific research applied to the monitoring of ecological and environmental status of Mediterranean marine ecosystems in an entertaining way through the use of a video game focused on ecological tools useful to describe the marine ecosystem status, such as biodiversity, water noise, eutrophication, alien species and on the approach of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

Are you curious in ecological thems such as biodiversity and ecosystems, natural risks, computing environment, marine science? ENVRIplus can answere to your curiosity. It is driven by three overarching goals: 1) favouring cross-fertilization between Research Infrastructures, 2) implementing innovative concepts and devices across Infrastructures, and 3) facilitating research and innovation in the field of environment to an increasing number of users outside the Research Infrastructures.

Test your skills in scientific research with the CASCADE science game. Through this game, you can improve your knowledge of how science studies the world around us and you will learn how to plan exciting new research in marine ecology. You will examine your background on marine ecosystems, learn more about biodiversity, and test your knowledge of marine impacts.

Background

The Incidence Function Model describes presence/absence of a species in the patches of a highly fragmented landscape at discrete time intervals (years) as the result of colonization and extinction processes. The IFM ignores local dynamics since they are faster than metapopulation dynamics in producing changes in the size of local populations (Hanski, 1994). In the IFM, the process of occupancy of patch is described by a first-order Markov chain with two states, {O, i} (empty and occupied, respectively). The extinction probability of a population in a patch is constant in time and is assumed to decrease with increasing patch area, and the colonization probability is assumed to be a sigmoidal function increasing with connectivity. The IFM is the best known spatially explicit metapopulation model in literature. This model has been applied to conservation problems and to area-wide pest-management.

Sound knowledge of Probability and Statistics and basic elements of any programming language is recommended.

Learning Objectives

It is expected that, with this tutorial, participants will be better positioned to:

1. Present the basic elements of discrete, finite-state Markov chains and the mathematics of the IFM;

2. Illustrate model parameters and performances in terms of metapopulation dynamics;

3. Examine the framework of IFM model applicability, how it works and its limitations;

4. Discuss variations to the basic model (rescue effect, time-dependent colonization probabilities);

5. Assess the use of the free software R for data representation, parameter estimation and model simulation.

Contents and Structure

Training Blocks:

1. The ecological problem and the Incidence Function Model;

2. Discrete time, finite state and Markov Chains;

3. The Incidence Function Model;

4. Model Simulation;

5. Model Parameters;

6. Parameter Estimation;

7. Application to Ecological Issues.

Target Audience

The training is intended for researchers in the field of ecological applications aiming at improving their quantitative background and interested in applying a stochastic model to analyse metapopulation dynamics and eventually obtain quantitative information for management.

Production

LifeWatch Italy

Background

Biodiversity data publishing is critical for several reasons, ranging from scientific research and conservation to policy-making and education. Darwin Core, a standardized framework for sharing biodiversity information, plays a crucial role in facilitating the effective use of biodiversity data. We this approach we are responding to the lack of knowledge about the geographical distribution of species and to the lack of knowledge about the abundance of species and their population dynamics in space and time.

Learning Objectives

Through this tutorial, participants will gain the skills to:

• Provide operational skills in modeling and coding biodiversity data according to international Darwin Core standards;
• Provide a step-by-step practical guide to using the GBIF IPT for uploading, field mapping, metadata configuration, and formal data registration with DOI assignment;
• Teach the methodology for drafting a Data Paper to enhance the value of collecting, curating, and publishing research data;
• Promote the culture of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data and Open Science for the benefit of future generations of scholars.

Contents and Structure

Training Blocks:

1. Explaining the Event Table;
2. Explaining the Occurrence Table;
3. Explaining Data Paper.

Target Audience

This resource is aimed at biologists at all levels, including MSc. and Ph.D. students in early stages of their thesis.

Production

LifeWatch Portugal, University of the Azores

Background

In recent years, one of the major challenges in Environmental and Earth Sciences has been managing and searching larger volumes of data, collected across multiple disciplines. Many different standards, approaches, and tools have been developed to support the Data Lifecycle from Data Acquisition to Data Curation, Data Publishing, Data Processing and Data Use. In particular, modern semantic technologies provide a promising way to properly describe and interrelate different data sources in ways that reduce barriers to data discovery, integration, and exchange among biodiversity and ecosystem resources and researchers. This course is built as a five-day intensive school providing the knowledge on how to create semantic artifacts for a specific domain and use them to annotate and analyse data in a Virtual Research Environment.

Learning Objectives

It is expected that, by the end of the course, participants will be better positioned to:

• Compare the most important approaches to Semantic Web and Ontology Engineering, presenting their main characteristics;
• Discuss the main steps of the design and development of ontologies and semantic artifacts repositories;
• Examine the most critical elements and tools for designing thesauri;
• Demonstrate how to annotate and query your data in a Virtual Research Environment;
• Create your Virtual Research Environment, using tools such as NaaVRE.

Contents and Structure

Training sessions:

1. Welcome;
2. Semantic Web and Ontology Engineering (Theory and Practice);
3. Design Thesauri and Annotate your data (Theory and Practice);
4. AI and Ontologies;
5. Closing.

Target Audience

The School is mainly aimed at IT architects, Research Infrastructure (RI) service developers and user support staff, and RI staff.

Production

LifeWatch ERIC

Background

In recent years, one of the major challenges in the Environmental and Earth Science has been managing and searching larger volumes of complex data, collected across multiple disciplines. Many different standards, technologies and common practices have been developed to support each phase of the Data Lifecycle. This course focuses on the creation and reuse of FAIR data and services in the Environmental and Earth sciences.

Learning Objectives

It is expected that, by the end of the course, participants will be better positioned to:

• Discuss basic concepts of semantics presenting how they can enrich data resources, enhance FAIRness and foster discoverability of data resources;
• Examine the full life cycle of an 'on demand' model run and results visualization for the creation of a new data product;
• Illustrate how resources (datasets, services, workflows) can be created, published and accessed on a metadata catalogue (LifeWatch ERIC Metadata Catalogue);
• Demonstrate the basic steps to run a legacy application in cloud, develop native cloud applications, automate application deployment and auto-scale a runtime application.

Contents and Structure

Training sessions:

1. Semantics;
2. VREs, Data analysis and Visualization;
3. Resource Access Tools;
4. Cloud computing for developing and operating data management services.

Target Audience

The resource is aimed at data centres staff, RIs representatives, IT experts and individuals interested in data access and discoverability.

Production

ENVRI-FAIR, LifeWatch ERIC

Background

The ENVRI Community International Winter School 2021 'ENVRI-FAIR Resources: Access & Discoverability' focuses on Data FAIRness focuses and covers semantic navigation, Jupyter environments for visualisation and data discovery, resource access tools and cloud computing. Aiming at supporting end users to make the best use of the data, the School establishes the end user perspective as a crucial element to develop good user interfaces and services to interact with data.

Learning Objectives

It is expected that, by the end of the course, participants will be better positioned to:

• Discuss basic concepts of semantics presenting how they can enrich data resources, enhance FAIRness and foster discoverability of data resources;
• Examine the full life cycle of an 'on demand' model run and results visualization for the creation of a new data product;
• Illustrate how resources (datasets, services, workflows) can be created, published and accessed on a metadata catalogue (LifeWatch ERIC Metadata Catalogue);
• Demonstrate the basic steps to run a legacy application in cloud, develop native cloud applications, automate application deployment and auto-scale a runtime application.

Contents and Structure

Training sessions:

1. Semantics;
2. VREs, Data analysis and Visualization;
3. Resource Access Tools;
4. Cloud computing for developing and operating data management services.

Target Audience

The resource is aimed at data centres staff, RIs representatives, IT experts and individuals interested in data access and discoverability.

Production

ENVRI-FAIR, LifeWatch ERIC

The Master in e-Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sciences (EBES) degree is offered by the University of Salento and LifeWatch ERIC, to prepare the next generation of professionals to apply data tools and concepts to ecology, and develop innovative, interdisciplinary solutions to environmental issues.

LifeWatch ERIC, together with the University of Salento (and soon also the Ionian University in Corfu), offers students who enrol in this master’s degree the opportunity to combine these disciplines in a single professional development programme in this exciting new field. e-Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sciences (EBES) is the newest International M.Sc. available at UniSalento as a double degree and exclusively taught in English.

A new generation of scientists and experts is needed in e-biodiversity and ecosystem sciences, professionals who are trained to apply data science tools and concepts to ecology, and develop innovative solutions to these key issues, and others, by blending the sciences and working in interdisciplinary teams.

Global challenges, like the climate crisis and the current COVID-19 pandemic, call for a deeper understanding of ecological phenomena at various levels of scale, to identify patterns and underlying mechanisms of biodiversity organisation and ecosystem functioning, and design scenarios of future change.

Science is changing: informatics and data are becoming ever more prominent and are opening up new opportunities to advance our knowledge and provide science-based solutions to society’s needs. We have big data but we lack the ability to take full advantage of them.

Thanks to this strategic partnership with LifeWatch ERIC, students of the Master in e-Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sciences will have the unique opportunity to spend from 6- to 12-month mobility periods abroad during their second year, taking advantage of dedicated LifeWatch ERIC fellowships or those of the ERASMUS+ programme. EBES students will also be welcomed within the LifeWatch ERIC Partner Institution Network, offering access to infrastructure facilities and Virtual Research Environments to work on their master’s thesis.

Learning Objectives

Students of the Master’s program in e-Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sciences (EBES) presented here will be able to:

• Explain the mechanisms underlying biodiversity organization and ecosystem functioning by integrating concepts from theoretical ecology and ecoinformatics;
• Use data science, ecological modeling, and ecoinformatics tools to analyze and process large, complex environmental datasets;
• Design predictive models, future change scenarios, and innovative solutions for environmental protection and sustainable ecosystem management.

Target Audience

University students and early-career researchers wishing to specialize in the integration of ecology, environmental data management, and ecoinformatics.

Background

The promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment is a global priority, a fundamental human right, and an essential prerequisite for achieving sustainable development.

Learning Objectives

It is expected that, by the end of this session, participants will be better positioned to:

• List the main objectives of IGAR;
• Discuss the main issues contained in the GENDER-NET Manual;
• Illustrate concept and principles of gender dimension in research;
• Apply the EC Checklist for Gender in Research to LifeWatch ERIC Projects.

Contents and Structure

Training blocks:

1. Introduction;
2. What is gender and the GEP @LifeWatch;
3. Why we need to do this? and How can it be done?;
4. Interactive and practical exercise.

Target Audience

This session is aimed at all LifeWatch ERIC staff involved in research, project proposal writing and project management.

Production

LifeWatch ERIC

• Be supported in understanding and directly applying agroecology and soil carbon dynamic;
• Access, harmonise, visualise, and analyse soil datasets like LUCAS and SUS-SOIL in one workspace;
• Use EU-wide LUCAS data in a case study to test data integration and workflow outputs;
• Assess soil carbon storage potential across forestlands, shrublands, and grasslands.

Background

LifeWatch ERIC builds and operates open e-science infrastructure supporting biodiversity and ecosystem research, offering Virtual Research Environments (VREs) for data analysis, sharing, and visualization. The LifeWatch Belgium e-Lab VRE allows users to process, standardize, and enrich ecological and taxonomic data through chained web services and reference databases.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the structure and operating procedure of the Belgian LifeWatch e-Lab VRE;
• Learn how to correctly upload and prepare data files in the standard LifeWatch format (based on Darwin Core and OBIS Schema);
• Configure, sequence, and execute a workflow of web services.

Target Audience

This guide is intended for researchers, biologists, ecologists, data managers, and LifeWatch.be portal users who wish to analyze, standardize, and enrich their biodiversity datasets.

Production

LifeWatch Belgium

Background

To facilitate the use of the LifeWatch Belgium web services, several applications and tools were documented in use cases and tutorials. The Belgian LifeWatch E-Lab online application allows users to standardize, analyze and visualize their data, making use of web services built on top of internal and external reference databases. A user can select several data services (taxonomic, geographic, thematic, etc.) and run them successively through a straightforward user interface. As explained in the user guide, the LifeWatch.be web services can be used in a concatenated way, i.e. the output of one web service is the input for the next web service. Establishing such workflows helps solving (complicated) biological questions, illustrated in this and other use cases.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the supported data formats and the main quality control web services provided by the platform;
• Configure and run the quality control process by uploading a data file, setting the correct row/column delimiters, selecting the required services, and verifying the column mapping in the preview screen;
• Examine the final report generated by the system to verify data validity and identify any potential errors.

Target Audience

This resource is dedicated to marine ecologists, biologists, and researchers interested in enriching their field observations with historical presence data from OBIS. .

Production

LifeWatch Belgium

Background

To facilitate the use of the LifeWatch Belgium web services, several applications and tools were documented in use cases and tutorials. The Belgian LifeWatch E-Lab online application allows users to standardize, analyze and visualize their data, making use of web services built on top of internal and external reference databases. A user can select several data services (taxonomic, geographic, thematic, etc.) and run them successively through a straightforward user interface. As explained in the user guide, the LifeWatch.be web services can be used in a concatenated way, i.e. the output of one web service is the input for the next web service. Establishing such workflows helps solving (complicated) biological questions, illustrated in this and other use cases.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the necessary web services to map a geographic name to its respective MRGID identifier and retrieve the species list;
• Upload an input file containing marine location names, configure the LifeWatch Belgium e-Lab and run the data processing;
• Examine the results report and the final table to interpret the number of unique species found in OBIS for each selected geographic area.

Target Audience

This resource is dedicated to marine ecologists, biologists, and researchers interested in enriching their field observations with historical presence data from OBIS. .

Production

LifeWatch Belgium

Background

The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a global taxonomic database that is continuously updated through the daily contributions of scientific editors and subject-matter experts, as well as the integration of extensive datasets. Content quality and scientific review are managed by an editorial system led by taxonomic experts for each biological group, ensuring rigorous, specialized oversight of the information entered. This entire data architecture relies on the Aphia platform, a modular infrastructure designed not only to manage marine and non-marine taxonomic data but also to provide operational tools and video tutorials that support the editing work of specialists and experts.

Learning Objectives

The main objectives of this resource is to:

• Provide the technical skills to navigate and make edits on the Aphia platform;
• Instruct users on the proper management and entry of data across the thematic modules;
• Ensure the application of quality control and editing standards defined by WoRMS.

Target Audience

This resource is intended for researchers, students, subject-matter experts and taxonomists, managers and curators of scientific databases, and specialist networks responsible for taxonomic groups.

Production

LifeWatch Belgium

Background

The workflow assesses habitat vulnerability to the introduction and establishment of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and the cumulative effects of their negative impacts, and is available through LifeWatch Tessaract at: https://tesseract.lifewatch.dev/biotope/create-workflow-cimpal.

Learning Objectives

This tutorial will allow you to:

• Design the input datasets in the required file extension and layout, according to your impact assessment framework of choice;
• Identify the provided parameters and the paths to the input files;;
• Examine the generated workflow output files.

Target Audience

The Workflow was created to support researchers and decision makers working on the management of impacts by Invasive Alien Species (IAS). The workflow outputs will help users to define target intervention areas, where the cumulative impacts of AIS are higher, and to make a better use of limited resources.

Prerequisites

Workflow users should:

• Have previous knowledge about the impact of invasive species;
• Be able to run and access GIS data;
• Be able to edit different data file formats (TSV, CSV, etc.).

Production

LifeWatch ERIC

Background

The analytical workflow on “Functional biogeography of alien species” is conceived to address scientific questions on the ecological processes following the introduction of alien species. It evaluates and measures the impact of alien species on native communities by studying changes in functional traits (i.e. trophic position of the invader) and seek associations between those changes and environmental variables that could influence post-invasion shifts of the invader trophic positions. This workflow operates as an analytical pipeline using isotopic data of invasive species and their potential prey within the invaded food-webs.

Learning Objectives

It is expected that, by the end of the course, participants will be better positioned to:

• Examine the technical requirements of the workflow’s services;
• Process the services included in the workflow;
• Run the workflow successfully;
• Identify and troubleshoot problems that may arise while running the workflow.

Target Audience

This training is aimed at early career researchers and anyone interested in learning how to run the “Functional biogeography of alien species” workflow.

Production

LifeWatch ERIC

Background

The two webinars "Designing and Developing Data Services for End Users" were organized in preparation for the ENVRI Community International Summer School 2022 ("Road to a FAIR ENVRI-Hub"). The event is structured into two sessions that can also be taken independently. The first webinar is focused on service validation, evaluation, and Technology Readiness Level (TRL) assessment for services offered by Research Infrastructures, drawing on experiences from projects such as ENVRIplus. The second webinar is centered on writing effective technical documentation, designing quality tutorials, and using Jupyter Notebooks to onboard new users.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the webinars, participants will be able to:

• Provide practical skills for validating and evaluating data services by assessing their Technology Readiness Level (TRL);
• Demonstrate strategies and best practices for writing documentation and creating support tutorials for end users;
• Illustrate the use of interactive tools (Jupyter Notebooks) to promote service adoption and facilitate integration into the ENVRI-Hub.

Contents and Structure

Webinar #1:

1. Validating services and assessing their TRL;
2. Service evaluation: why and how;
3. Evaluating ENVRI services: experiences from the ENVRIplus;
4. QandA and general discussion – plenary.

Webinar #2:

1. Writing effective service documentation for EUDAT services;
2. Service tutorial design: experiences from EOSC Synergy ;
3. Using Jupyter Notebooks to introduce services to “new” end users;
4. QandA and general discussion – plenary.

Target Audience

IT architects, Research Infrastructure (RI) service developers, user support staff, and RI staff dedicated to community and network building.

Production

ENVRI-FAIR, LifeWatch ERIC

Background

The workshop, organized on May 20 and 21, 2021, presents the scientific and technological results of five case studies on Non-indigenous Invasive Species (NIS), conducted within the Internal Joint Initiative (IJI) of LifeWatch ERIC. The event showcases the developed e-Science solutions, integrating scientific presentations on marine, terrestrial, and freshwater domains with the corresponding analytical workflows implemented in the LifeWatch ERIC Tesseract platform. The hands-on session navigates the LifeWatch ERIC Metadata Catalogue and LifeWatch ERIC Tesseract (workflows and VREs).

Learning Objectives

• To provide an overview of the technological and ecological solutions developed by the Internal Joint Initiative (IJI) of LifeWatch ERIC for the study of NIS;
• To illustrate the practical application of the workflows (ARMS, Crustaceans, Ailanthus, Metabarcoding, and Habitat Vulnerability);
• To train users in the use of the Metadata Catalogue and the Tesseract VRE environment.

Contents and Structure

Training blocks:

1. Marine Domain (Part 1 and 2);
2. Terrestrial Domain and Inland Waters (Part 1 and 2);
3. Hands-on Session.

Target Audience

Researchers, data managers, biodiversity experts, and ecological modellers interested in the study of invasive species and the use of digital infrastructures and FAIR analytical workflows.

Production

LifeWatch ERIC

Background

The Data liberation and Publishing tools course aims to tackle both sides of the publication process: 1) the annotation, preservation and dissemination of data extracted from the literature by utilising the right pipelines and mechanisms; and 2) the publication of prospective scientific literature and data in advanced ways to support easier and efficient (re)sharing and (re)use of biodiversity data contained in an academic publication. The course intends to showcase modern ways to complete the cycle of biodiversity data usage, including how to harvest, access, publish, preserve and cite scientific data and literature. Both the "Data Liberation" and the "Publishing Tools" modules refer to two tools devised within the EU-funded project: Biodiversity Community Integrated Knowledge Library (BiCIKL), and featured in the Biodiversity Knowledge Hub (BKH).

Learning Objectives

This training enables users to:

• Understand the benefits and workflow of the data liberation process and biodiversity semantic standards;
• Develop practical skills for digitizing and standardizing taxonomic literature through workflows;
• Master the use of innovative publishing tools to publish data in machine-actionable formats that comply with FAIR principles;
• Recognize the importance and impact of Open Science on nature conservation and collaborative research.

Target Audience

The selected target groups include publishers, research groups, research infrastructure managers, research managers, researchers, and students.

Background

The EU-funded BiCIKL (Biodiversity Community Integrated Knowledge Library) project aims to revolutionize access to biodiversity data by establishing bidirectional links between scientific literature, museum specimens, genomic sequences, and taxonomic data. In this context, the Biodiversity Knowledge Hub (BKH) is the single-entry portal offering a centralized access point to FAIR guidelines, tools, and services for navigating and reusing the entire wealth of interconnected biodiversity data. This course presents an introduction to the BKH. It presents the structure of the BKH, the FAIR Data Place section and its key role in the openness of the data.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the features and benefits of the BKH;
• Navigate the BKH platform confidently;
• Understand the transfer mechanisms and the workflow of biodiversity data.

Target Audience

The target audience identified for this resource includes academic researchers, graduate students, journal editors and reviewers, and scientific writers.

Description

This second part of the inaugural webinar in the 'Towards FAIR Digital Twins' series addresses the practical application of FAIR principles in digital twin development. Speakers unpack real-world case studies to demonstrate how to seamlessly transition FAIR data concepts from theory to technical execution. This event is part of a series of webinars to provid an overview of FAIR tools applicable to digital twinning. 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, you will gain the skills to:

• Explain the connection between the Digital Twin ecosystem and the FAIR principles;
• Evaluate the application of semantic technologies in enhancing scientific reproducibility;
• Apply specific FAIR principles tailored for research software development and management.

Target Audience

Researchers, research community managers, data processing experts, software developers, and innovators seeking to apply FAIR principles to digital twin modeling and scientific research infrastructure.

Description

This webinar presented the prototype of a Biodiversity Digital Twin, the tool aims to predict global biodiversity dynamics and species-environment interactions through biomonitoring and scenario simulations.

Learning Objectives

After finishing this session, you will be prepared to:

• Assessing pollinator stress dynamics;
• Predictive modeling of Invasive alien species;
• Mastering the Digital Twin Methodology.

Target Audience

Researchers, developers, modellers, research infrastructure managers, policy makers, and students seeking to understand the Biodiversity Digital Twin approach and leverage advanced modelling, supercomputers, and massive data integration to address key ecological and biodiversity challenges.

Description

Hosted in 2024 as part of the Horizon Europe BioDT initiative, this webinar explored how digital twin technology can revolutionize biodiversity and agriculture, particularly in maximizing the value of crop wild relatives (CWR). The session highlighted the synergy between MoDGP (Modelling the Distribution of Germplasms of Interest), a novel modeling methodology, and FIGS (Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy). Attendees gained insights into how digital twinning facilitates model-based identification of genetic resources through automated uncertainty analysis, real-time data integration, dynamic updates, and trait alerts. This innovative approach offers valuable tools for plant breeders, conservationists, and decision-makers.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion, learners will be ready to:

• Apply the concept of the Digital Twin to biodiversity research and management;
• Evaluate the ecological and agricultural importance of Crop Wild Relatives (CWR);
• Utilize the MoDGP tool to analyze and process targeted genetic data;
• Implement the FIGS (Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy) framework alongside Machine Learning models for trait discovery;
• Integrate multi-omics and environmental datasets to derive actionable insights.

Target Audience

The target groups for the resource are researchers, research groups, companies in the agricultural and seed sectors, policymakers, and other sector experts such as plant breeders, conservationists, and modelers.

A collection of online training resources on the topic of FAIRness relevant for BioDT. The collection includes: guidelines on Research Object Crate (RO-Crate), the main metadata format used within the project; online books covering many different aspects related to open science; and FAIR-IMPACT's Metrics for software and FAIR-IMPACT's Catalogue of Resources.

Description

The training materials, derived from the BioDT Winter School & Hackathon, offers an overview of the technological components of the Biodiversity Digital Twin. Through this module on the LEXIS platform and computing infrastructure, the resource demonstrates how to manage HPC and AI workflows on federated supercomputers and how to develop interactive interfaces for ecological research, using the Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) use case as an analytical reference.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, participants will be able to:

• Understand the high-performance computational structures required to support Digital Twins on a European scale;
• Manage Complex Workflows via the LEXIS Platform;
• Apply Digital Twins to Biological Selection.

Target Audience

Researchers, students, and innovators in the fields of ecology and computing who are interested in developing interactive interfaces for biodiversity Digital Twins and orchestrating complex workflows across HPC, Cloud, and AI using the LEXIS platform.

Description

The training session, part of the BioDT Winter School and Hackathon, offers an introduction to High-Performance Computing (HPC) and the optimization of ecological models. The course guides participants through supercomputer and cluster architectures—with a specific focus on the European LUMI supercomputer—and demonstrates how to scale biodiversity models from a personal laptop to supercomputers. Key topics covered include parallel algorithms, GPU usage, workflow orchestration, and software environment immutability via containers.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this resource, you will learn how to:

• Understand the principles of parallel computing;
• Utilize workflow orchestrators and containers;
• Access and operate on a Supercomputer.

Target Audience

This resource is aimed at students, researchers, scientific groups and communities, as well as intermediate-level innovators who wish to acquire practical skills in high-performance computing (HPC) for the optimization and scalability of ecological and biodiversity models.

Description

The training event is part of the BioDT School and focuses on the Digital Twin prototype (pDT) dedicated to Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) and biodiversity. Participants evaluate the user interface (GUI), test functionalities through individual and group sessions, and take part in a workshop aimed at addressing key challenges such as scalability, dynamic updates, user experience, and ethics.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the reading, users will be able to:

• Provide the historical and regulatory context of the BioDT Digital Twin prototype regarding Cultural Ecosystem Services;
• Teach how to use and configure the Digital Twin GUI by combining data on biodiversity and recreational potential;
• Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills applied to Digital Twin design.

Target Audience

This resource is aimed at researchers, students, policymakers, land managers, and citizens interested in exploring and evaluating the use of digital twins for the management of biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services.

Description

The resource provides an intensive, two-part training initiative featuring a four-day school followed by a hands-on hackathon. Attendees will gain both theoretical and practical expertise, leveraging Open Science data management, API integration, and cutting-edge HPC infrastructure, ncluding the LUMI supercomputer and GBIF, before applying their knowledge to real-world case studies and a final collaborative team hackathon.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, participants will be able to:

• Understand Digital Twin architectures, frameworks, and core components;
• Leverage High-Performance Computing (HPC) and supercomputing solutions for scalable simulations;
• Practice Open Science principles and ensure proper data management throughout the project lifecycle.

Target Audience

Researchers, data scientists, and biodiversity specialists looking to apply High-Performance Computing (HPC), digital twin technology, open science principles, and data management tools, such as GBIF, NaaVRE, and LEXIS, to scale up and model ecological and biodiversity research.

Description

The event provided a theoretical and practical introduction to the entire development lifecycle of digital twins for biodiversity. During the course, participants explored the use of advanced HPC platforms, API integration, and data management based on Open Science principles, while also analyzing real-world case studies.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Understand Digital Twin architecture;
• Design Conceptual Models;
• Leverage Supercomputing (HPC) Solutions;
• Practice Open Science and Data Management.

Target Audience

Student, researcher, developer, or simply a biodiversity enthusiast who want to contribute to the future of digital biodiversity modeling.

Description

This tutorial introduces the HONEYBEE prototype Digital Twin (HONEYBEE-pDT), an extension of the BEEHAVE model. Using high-resolution weather and land-cover data, this free web tool lets users easily set up HPC-powered simulations to model German honey bee colony health under various ecological and management scenarios.

Learning Objectives

In this tutorial you will:

• Predict the impact of available floral resources on honey bee colony vitality by evaluating the choice of different hive locations within the landscape;
• Calibrate the flowering periods of different crop types, modifying the availability and content of nectar and pollen;
• Evaluate how beekeeping management decisions influence hive population dynamics by adjusting the dashboard parameters.

Target Audience

The target users are researchers, ecologists, apiculturists, agricultural planners, and environmental policymakers seeking to simulate and assess honeybee colony dynamics, health, and productivity under varying climatic, environmental, and management scenarios.

Description

To address the historic lack of digital modeling for nature-based cultural benefits—such as recreation and scenic beauty, the BioDT project organized an interactive workshop highlighting a cutting-edge prototype focused on Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES). By linking an environment's recreational value directly with biodiversity monitoring through Species Distribution Models, BioDT introduces a pioneering approach to holistic ecosystem modeling.

Learning Objectives

What you will be able to achieve:

• Synthesize recreational land-use potential with biological species occurrence data to align ecological availability with specific user preferences;
• Critique the operational potential and practical challenges of implementing ecological Digital Twins in biodiversity monitoring and management;
• Evaluate the underlying mechanics, accuracy, and predictive functioning of Species Distribution Models (SDMs);
• Apply FAIR data principles to ecological datasets and scientific workflows.

Target Audience

Land Managers, Policy Makers, Researchers, Citizen Scientists, and conservationists.

Description

This webinar on biodiversity data citation examined how to properly attribute credit across the entire computational pipeline, rather than just to traditional datasets. Featuring experts from GBIF, DiSSCo, eLTER, and LifeWatch ERIC, the session emphasized how proper citation protects data provenance and demonstrates research impact to future funders. This event is part of a series of webinars focused on sharing best practices on data citation. 

Learning Objectives

This resource builds the competencies required to:

• Analyze the extended value of citations;
• Implement persistent identifiers;
• Leverage blockchain for data provenance.

Target Audience

Target users for this resource include researchers, research communities, research groups, and students seeking to understand advanced data citation practices within biodiversity research infrastructures.

Description

The webinar, held in 2023 as part of the BioDT project, provided an in-depth technical overview of the development process for the Biodiversity Digital Twin prototype. During the event, the prototype's key components, the integration of data from Research Infrastructures, and the interaction with High-Performance Computing (HPC), with a particular focus on the use of the European supercomputer LUMI—were presented. Practical use cases were also illustrated to demonstrate the platform's tangible impact.

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this training resource, users will be able to:

• Understand the key concept of the Biodiversity Digital Twin;
• Identify technical challenges in biodiversity modeling;
• Analyze the role of High-Performance Computing (HPC);
• Recognize the impact of Research Infrastructures;
• Evaluate cultural ecosystem services and practical use cases.

Target Audience

This resource is aimed at researchers, research communities and groups, scientific infrastructure managers, and policymakers interested in understanding how high-performance computing (HPC) and digital twins can support biodiversity analysis and management.

Background

The Black Sea Accelerator provides a platform for participants to collaborate, learn, and grow their ventures by offering tailored training, mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to resources and funding. Whether they are looking to launch a new venture, scale an existing business, or develop innovative solutions to pressing challenges, the accelerator program equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to succeed in the blue economy sector and make a positive impact in the Black Sea region.

Content and activities

• Introduction and Overview
• Key Insights of the Financial Modelling
  • Identifying the various applications of financial models.
  • Point out the key components for an accurate model.
• Presentation of a Modelling Example
• Open Q&A

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training session, participants should be able to:

• Identify the various applications of financial models.
• Find out what are the basic components that need to complete the financial model.
• Point out the key assumptions mandatory to form an accurate financial model.
• Learn to create and identify the core of financial modelling, the key calculation sheets.
• Understand the concept of critical financial indicators, exit outcomes.
• Present and communicate key insights from the financial models.

Target Audience

The Black Sea Accelerator participants consist of aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, and businesses operating within the blue economy sector across the Black Sea region. This diverse group encompasses startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), larger enterprises, universities, research institutions, and individuals who have innovative ideas or ventures related to maritime industries, marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, coastal tourism, renewable energy, shipping, and other sectors contributing to the sustainable development of the Black Sea region. They are passionate about leveraging their expertise and resources to address the environmental challenges facing the Black Sea while unlocking economic opportunities through innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable business practices.

Trainers and moderators

• Ilias Katris, Senior Consultant in the Management Consulting Services Unit of Kantor
• Anastasia Flerianou, Analyst at Kantor Management Consultants

Background

The Black Sea Accelerator provides a platform for participants to collaborate, learn, and grow their ventures by offering tailored training, mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to resources and funding. Whether they are looking to launch a new venture, scale an existing business, or develop innovative solutions to pressing challenges, the accelerator program equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to succeed in the blue economy sector and make a positive impact in the Black Sea region.

Content and activities

• Overview of 1-1 mentoring sessions offered
• Optimizing Recruitment Efforts
• Designing Visual Investor Presentations
• Open Q&A and Wrap-Up

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training session, participants should be able to:

• Define the essential characteristics and skills required for their startup.
• List various recruitment strategies and how to implement them effectively.
• Describe actionable recruitment strategies to attract and retain the best talent.
• Create a presentation outline that includes all necessary elements to engage investors.
• Select and use visual aids that complement and strengthen their presentations.

Target Audience

The Black Sea Accelerator participants consist of aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, and businesses operating within the blue economy sector across the Black Sea region. This diverse group encompasses startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), larger enterprises, universities, research institutions, and individuals who have innovative ideas or ventures related to maritime industries, marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, coastal tourism, renewable energy, shipping, and other sectors contributing to the sustainable development of the Black Sea region. They are passionate about leveraging their expertise and resources to address the environmental challenges facing the Black Sea while unlocking economic opportunities through innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable business practices.

Trainers and moderators

• Ilias Katris, Senior Consultant in the Management Consulting Services Unit of Kantor.
• Anastasia Flerianou, Analyst at Kantor Management Consultants
• Eleni Manousiadi, Senior Consultant at Kantor, DOORS

Background

The Black Sea Accelerator provides a platform for participants to collaborate, learn, and grow their ventures by offering tailored training, mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to resources and funding. Whether they are looking to launch a new venture, scale an existing business, or develop innovative solutions to pressing challenges, the accelerator program equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to succeed in the blue economy sector and make a positive impact in the Black Sea region.

Content and activities

• Introduction to the programme
• Pitching Foundations
• Q&A
• Practical Exercise - Participant Pitches
• Investor Q&A

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training session, participants should be able to:

• Articulate the purpose and value proposition of their business idea succinctly.
• Engage in practical exercises to refine their pitching skills.
• Gain confidence in presenting their ideas to potential investors.
• Learn strategies for effectively responding to questions and feedback from investors.
• Have a clearer understanding of what investors seek in a pitch presentation.

Target Audience

The Black Sea Accelerator participants consist of aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, and businesses operating within the blue economy sector across the Black Sea region. This diverse group encompasses startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), larger enterprises, universities, research institutions, and individuals who have innovative ideas or ventures related to maritime industries, marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, coastal tourism, renewable energy, shipping, and other sectors contributing to the sustainable development of the Black Sea region. They are passionate about leveraging their expertise and resources to address the environmental challenges facing the Black Sea while unlocking economic opportunities through innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable business practices.

Trainers and moderators

• Dr. Ebun Akinsete, Head of the Department of Stakeholder Analysis and Decision Support Systems at ATHENA RC and UN SDSN Greece
• Matteo Bocci, Senior policy Expert at Stratégies Mer et Littoral, BRIDGE-BS
• Eleni Manousiadi, Senior Consultant at Kantor, DOORS

Background

The Black Sea Accelerator provides a platform for participants to collaborate, learn, and grow their ventures by offering tailored training, mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to resources and funding. Whether they are looking to launch a new venture, scale an existing business, or develop innovative solutions to pressing challenges, the accelerator program equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to succeed in the blue economy sector and make a positive impact in the Black Sea region.

Content and activities

• Business Modelling Theory - Q&A
• Business Modelling Tools - Q&A
• Practical session
• Participants feedback

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training session, participants should be able to:

• Explain the concept and benefits of circular economy thinking and its application to business models.
• Identify opportunities for implementing circular strategies within their business operations and value chains.
• Utilize the Canvas Business Model framework to map out key components of their circular business models, including value proposition, customer segments, revenue streams, and resource loops.
• Analyze and evaluate the feasibility and potential impact of their circular business models in terms of economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
• Iterate and refine their circular business models based on feedback, insights, and best practices shared during the training.
• Demonstrate effective communication skills in presenting and pitching their circular business models to stakeholders, investors, and partners.

Target Audience

The Black Sea Accelerator participants consist of aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, and businesses operating within the blue economy sector across the Black Sea region. This diverse group encompasses startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), larger enterprises, universities, research institutions, and individuals who have innovative ideas or ventures related to maritime industries, marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, coastal tourism, renewable energy, shipping, and other sectors contributing to the sustainable development of the Black Sea region. They are passionate about leveraging their expertise and resources to address the environmental challenges facing the Black Sea while unlocking economic opportunities through innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable business practices.

Trainers

• Matteo Bocci, Senior policy Expert at Stratégies Mer et Littoral, BRIDGE-BS
• Eleni Manousiadi, Senior Consultant at Kantor, DOORS
• Lydia Papadaki, PhD candidate at the Athens University of Economics and Business and Researcher at the Alliance of Excellence for Research and Innovation on Aephoria (AE4RIA), DOORS
• Martin Gurria, BRIDGE-BS

This training session was organised as part of the EU-funded SUBMERSE project, which explores sensing capabilities of existing submarine optical fiber networks for research applications.

Purpose of this training session

The training session introduces you to data recording, measurement, and analysis methods of State of Polarization (SoP) in optical networks. It will:

• provide technical insights into SoP and its relation to sensing on deployed fiber cables;
• support the implementation and validation of sensing devices in the SUBMERSE project.

Target audience

Optical networks and telecommunications operators and vendors; researchers in earth sciences and geophysics.

Requirements

None or basic knowledge of SOP changes recording and analysis methods. Basic experience in analysis of data generated by sensing network.

Session outline

• Introduction
• Fundamentals of measuring changes of the State of Polarization (SOP) with Novoptel PM 1000
• Demo of PM1000 GUI
• Demo of SoP recording and analysis with MATLAB
• Case study: SOP data analysis for seismic events monitoring

Learning objectives

With this training session, you will be better positioned to:

• define State of Polarization through key correlated concepts and models of visualization
• list causes and effects of polarization changes
• describe different types of SOP measurement methods, with respective limitations
• recognize recording types with PM1000
• analyse SOP data using MATLAB
• explain benefits of using both Full-Stokes and PBS-based polarimeters for earthquake monitoring.

Trainer panel

• Kurosh Bozorgebrahimi, Senior Advisor for Optical Networks at Sikt, Task Leader in the SUBMERSE Project
• Benjamin Koch, Research Associate at Universität Paderborn / Novoptel Gmbh
• Kristina Skarvang Vaskinn, PhD candidate at NTNU | Centre for Geophysical Forecasting

This training session took place during the SUBMERSE Community Event on 15 April 2026.

Purpose of this training session

This practical tutorial allows researchers to analyse a real sample of 2023 DAS records coming from the GeoLab fibre and OptoDAS interrogator in Madeira island, one of the SUBMERSE project collection sites. The training session provides instructions to replicate the workflow with one's own data.

Target audience

Oceanographers, seismologists, ecologists; Telecommunications, Acoustics, and Electrical engineers.

Prerequisites

Familiarity with Jupyter Notebooks environment and basics of Python is welcomed. A Google account is required to duplicate the Colab notebook.

Learning objectives

With this training session, you will be better positioned to:

• Stream submarine DAS data directly into a notebook;
• Convert optical measurements to strain metrics;
• Use Frequency-Wavenumber (FK) filters to isolate signals;
• Use template matching to track marine mammals;
• Apply wave dispersion analysis to understand shallow-water dynamics.

Trainer panel

• Afonso Loureiro, Researcher at ARDITI / Instituto Dom Luiz

This training session took place during the SUBMERSE Community Event on 15 April 2026.

Purpose of this training session

This training session demonstrates how fiber optic sensing can be a high-fidelity tool not only for seismology, but also for physical oceanography. By using a downsampled dataset from the Geolab fibre in Madeira, this tutorial provides a concrete workflow for researchers to familiarise themselves with how signals change along different segments of a submarine cable, moving from land and the narrow shelf into deep water.

Target audience

Oceanographers, seismologists, ecologists; Telecommunications, Acoustics, and Electrical engineers.

Prerequisites

Familiarity with Jupyter Notebooks environment and basics of Python is welcomed. A Google account is required to duplicate the Colab notebook.

Learning objectives

With this training session, you will be better positioned to:

• Recognise content of DAS files in both time and frequency domains;
• Explain how depth and location (e.g., land vs. sea) influence signals recorded by fibre-optic cables;
• Downsample data to isolate oceanographic waves from high-frequency acoustic noise;
• Apply standard seismic processing tools to non-traditional submarine sensor data.

Trainer panel

• Aggeliki Barberopoulou, Research Scientist at HCMR
• Athanasia Papapostolou, Research Associate at HCMR

Description

This resource is an operational manual developed as part of the European project "Biodiversity Meets Data" (BMD) for planning and managing wildlife monitoring using camera traps. The guide covers the entire survey lifecycle, offering practical advice on study design, equipment checklists, configuration parameters, and field installation techniques. It also includes recommendations for periodic maintenance and the management and standardization of data and metadata in accordance with FAIR principles, as well as essential ethical, legal, and safety guidelines for conducting replicable scientific research.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this resource, users will be able to:

• Discuss how to plan the study design by defining the field layout and camera trap density based on monitoring objectives and target species;
• Configure and place devices, applying optimal settings and correct mounting techniques to maximize the detection rate of target wildlife;
• Manage field maintenance and troubleshoot malfunctions during routine camera trap checks;
• Organize data according to FAIR principles to standardize data, metadata, and files for secure long-term archiving, reuse, and scientific community sharing;
• Apply ethical and safety standards, adhering to safety procedures for personnel, privacy regulations regarding human imagery, and permit acquisition requirements.

Target Audience

The guide is aimed at researchers, ecologists, protected area managers, wildlife technicians, and students who plan and conduct field-based biodiversity monitoring using camera traps.

Description

This practical video tutorial provides a step-by-step guide to setting up and using a trail camera for wildlife monitoring and area surveillance. The resource covers hardware installation, cellular connectivity, and memory card management, as well as camera settings and practical tips for avoiding false alarms caused by strong winds.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the tutorial, the viewer will be able to:

• Illustrate the hardware operation of the 4G camera trap;
• Discuss device's placement and orientation to minimise false positives;
• Configure the remote transmission of images and notifications via the 4G cellular network;
• Customize capture settings by selecting and balancing the number of photos, video duration, and shooting modes according to monitoring requirements.

Target Audience

The video tutorial is aimed at researchers, ecologists, protected area managers, wildlife technicians, and students who plan and conduct field-based biodiversity monitoring using camera traps.

Description

This training resource consists of the user manual and official documentation of OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System and focus on the mobilization of marine biodiversity datasets, with a specific additional emphasis on the abiotic conditions associated with biological data to align these with the data requirements of EMODnet. The manual guides the user through the entire lifecycle of marine data, from initial access to final validation and publication.

Learning Objectives

Users will be able to:

• Retrieve and navigate OBIS Data;
• Format marine biological datasets in accordance with required standards to ensure seamless data interoperability;
• Execute quality assurance;
• Publish standardized datasets.

Target Audience

This resource is primarily aimed at researchers, marine biologists, data managers, and database curators interested in the standardization, management, and publication of marine biodiversity data according to the Darwin Core standard.