Effective monitoring and information sharing is crucial for a better understanding of marine biodiversity and ecosystem status and trends, and for assessing progress towards the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Availability of regional and global data is essential to form more effective conservation strategies in a changing world. The UNESCO IODE Ocean Biodiversity Information System is an open, robust data system and established network of practice focusing on marine biodiversity observations and data and products to inform research communities, management groups and policy makers.
This presentation will explore recent advances in collecting, standardising, and integrating diverse data types into OBIS to support biodiversity research. For example, traits - morphological, physiological, or phenological characteristics - are essential for understanding community structure and ecosystem functioning. Contextual information, such as environmental measurements and habitat descriptions, helps link species occurrences to ecosystem conditions, enhancing our ability to predict impacts of environmental changes. The use of extended Measurement or Fact (eMoF) extensions and data standards from OBIS and GBIF can make these data more accessible and interoperable.
The Australian OBIS node, OBIS-AU, works with researchers, collections and museums in our region to integrate Australian data to OBIS and it's products.