Data & services
Local observation data
Access the local observation data collected by LifeWatch. LifeWatch maintains marine, freshwater and terrestrial observatories that generate long-term and openly accessible biodiversity data.
Biodiversity data systems
LifeWatch supports global biodiversity data systems by bringing together the global communities for providing taxonomic information, data, and geographic areas. The LifeWatch Species Information Backbone is a combination of linked data systems hosted by LifeWatch.
Bio-logging & camera trapping services
LifeWatch manages three bio-logging networks and provides data and data management services to animal movement ecologists. We use GPS-loggers to support the study of bird movements and behaviour over land and sea. Movements of aquatic animals in the freshwater and marine environments are tracked using acoustic telemetry and pop-off data storage tags, while camera trap technology allows us to support wildlife ecologists in their persuit to learn more about the ecology of terrestrial wildlife.
Habitat mapping services
LifeWatch is managing datacubes of curated environmental variables for the characterisation of terrestrial ecosystems. We use remote sensing data and geospatial analysis to characterise the building blocks of these ecosystems, namely ecotopes and ecopatches. Ecotopes are the smallest ecologically homogenous spatial units, which are modelled as a polygon database of Belgium including more than 100 consistent variables. Ecopatches area a coarser version of the ecotopes (10m instead of 2m) which cover the whole of Europe.
e-Lab
The e-lab is an online application developed by LifeWatch Flanders that allows local and international users to use web services (taxonomic, geographic, thematic, etc.) without needing any technical knowledge. Users can standardise, analyse and visualise their data by making use of web services built on top of internal (LifeWatch, e.g. Species Information Backbone services) and external reference databases (e.g. Bathymetry, Terrestrial Biological Valuation,...). The services can be concatinated into workflows.
Software packages
A number of open source software packages are developed and maintained by LifeWatch. These packages facilitate biodiversity data access or analysis. Additional scripts can found in the various GitHub repositories.
Dataset catalogue
The LifeWatch Dataset Catalogue provides an overview of the datasets produced by LifeWatch Belgium. These datasets are also included in the LifeWatch ERIC Metadata Catalogue.
Related stories
Relevant news
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WoRMS and Marine Regions contribute to the OBIS-GBIF Action Plan for Marine Biodiversity Data 
WoRMS and Marine Regions contribute to the OBIS-GBIF Action Plan for Marine Biodiversity Data
Two global data networks have agreed to a joint strategy and action plan that will deepen their collaboration, improve the flows and services of high-quality data about marine and coastal biodiversity, and support research and decision-making on the world's oceans. -
WoRMS press release: Ten remarkable new marine species from 2023 
WoRMS press release: Ten remarkable new marine species from 2023
As for previous years, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) has again released its annual list of the top-ten marine species described by researchers during the past year to coincide with World Taxonomist Appreciation Day on March 19th! -
Call for nominations for the WoRMS Top-Ten Marine Species of 2023 
Call for nominations for the WoRMS Top-Ten Marine Species of 2023
Once again taxonomists have continued to publish many wonderful new species throughout the last year. As we approach the end of 2023 it is time to think about nominations for The WoRMS Top Ten Marine Species of 2023!