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BioMonWeek 2026: the OBIS-related contributions at a glance

5 May 2026

BioMonWeek 2026 MARCO-BOLO Horizon Europe eDNA

BioMonWeek 2026

The first Biodiversity Monitoring Week (BioMonWeek 2026), taking place in Montpellier, France, from 4 to 8 May, is a milestone for biodiversity monitoring in Europe. Co-organized by Biodiversa+, GBIF, MARCO-BOLO, BioAgora, and the Alliance for Nature, the event brings together over 400 participants across disciplines and realms. It’s designed as a recurring biennial conference with a specific focus on European monitoring needs and priorities, as well as a platform to promote collaboration, share best practices, and celebrate achievements.

OBIS is contributing to BioMonWeek through Horizon Europe’s MARCO-BOLO project, where the infrastructure is involved in Work Package 1 (Data and metadata standards for EOV data streams), Work Package 2 (Monitoring through eDNA), and co-leads Work Package 6 on stakeholder engagement. Supported by Lisa Benedetti (OBIS Stakeholder Engagement Officer), WP6 has contributed to shaping the marine biodiversity component of BioMonWeek, involving several members of the OBIS Community: Emilie Boulanger (OBIS eDNA Science Officer), Steve Formel (OBIS Data Officer), Dan Lear (OBIS Node Manager and OBIS SG Co-Chair), Pieter Provoost (OBIS Data Manager), and Elizabeth Lawrence (OBIS Training Officer, not present in person).

The OBIS contributions to BioMonWeek will focus on three main themes spread across workshops, sessions, presentations, and discussions:

- publishing marine data across networks;
- environmental DNA, from method to monitoring;
- building the marine biodiversity data infrastructure: tools, metadata, and derived products.

You will find below the MARCO BOLO / OBIS-contributed sessions at BioMonWeek, first organized thematically, then, at the end of the article, chronologically. You can follow the hashtag #BioMonWeek2026 on your favorite social media channels for live updates.

1- Publishing marine data across networks

DT08: Parallel Publishing to GBIF and OBIS: Streamlining Marine Biodiversity Data Sharing
A talk by Steve Formel, contributed by Elizabeth Lawrence.
Tuesday 5 May, 11:30-12:30
This talk features the best practices for publishing marine datasets simultaneously to OBIS and GBIF, with practical guidance on the IPT, WoRMS alignment, and harmonizing workflows across networks.

DT07: Standardizing and sharing survey and monitoring data through GBIF and OBIS
A session co-convened by Kate Ingenloff and Dan Lear.
Tuesday 5 May, 16:30-17:30, Room Joffre G.

MR12: Mobilizing marine biodiversity monitoring data
A session convened by Dan Lear.
Thursday 7 May, 11:30-12:30, Room Barthez.

2- Environmental DNA, from method to monitoring

MM01: Getting kick-started with eDNA-based methods
A workshop featuring Émilie Boulanger as the co-leader of a discussion table.
Tuesday 5 May, 16:30-18:00.

eDNAqua-Plan recommendations towards a future of federated, curated reference libraries and aligned eDNA (meta)data publishing infrastructure and practices
A poster by Émilie Boulanger, contributed by Katrina Exter, Joana Pauperio, Saara Suominen, Pieter Provoost, Frédéric Rimet, Antonio Picazo, Antonio Camacho, Camila Babo, Joana Verissimo, Veera Norros, Pascal Hablützel, Christina Pavloudi, Kristian Meissner, and Peter Woollard.
Tuesday 5 May, 15:30-16:30, poster session.
This poster presents the eDNAqua-Plan project’s recommendations and emerging blueprint for the curated reference systems and interoperable infrastructure needed to integrate eDNA into routine aquatic monitoring.

eDNA05: Conservation-related eDNA applications
A session convened by Émilie Boulanger.
Thursday 7 May, 09:00-10:00.

DT03: Environmental DNA survey data publication, management, and interoperability
A session co-convened by Birgit Gemeinholzer, Steve Formel, Pieter Provoost, and Rasa Bukontaite.
Thursday 7 May, 11:30-12:30, Room Sully 1.

3- Building the infrastructure: tools, metadata, and derived products

Understanding EBVs and EOVs
An interactive session co-convened by Lina Mtwana Nordlund, Guillaume Body, and Lisa Benedetti.
Tuesday 5 May, 16:30-18:00
This interactive session introduces Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) and Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) as key frameworks for monitoring ocean and biodiversity change. We will briefly present what EOVs and EBVs are, how they are used, and why they matter for observation, assessment, and decision-making. The session will then explore where these frameworks potentially overlap, how they complement and reinforce each other, and how closer alignment can strengthen biodiversity monitoring across marine systems. The session concludes with facilitated discussions to exchange perspectives, experiences, and ideas for improved integration.

DT05: Tools for data use, curation, and management

A session co-convened by Andrew Rodrigues, Dan Lear, and Wouter Addink
This session includes a presentation by Dan Lear on Tools and resources for the marine biodiversity community, powered by EMODnet Biology, contributed by Joana Beja, Leen Vandepitte, Tobias Büring, Benjamin Weigel, Marina Lipizer, Bart Vanhoorne, and the EMODnet Biology consortium, showcasing fifteen years of EMODnet Biology services, including the BioCheck quality control tool, two R packages for data access, and freely available training materials. Wednesday 6 May, 09:00-11:00, Room Sully 2.

DT02: Data Workflows and Pipelines for WorkFlowHub
A session co-convened by Sandra MacFadyen and Steve Formel, including the presentation A Dream of a Lean Marine Metadata Machine by Steve Formel, contributed by Dan Lear, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Katrina Exter, Chloe Figueroa, Paolo Tagliolato, and Pieter Provoost.
Wednesday 6 May, 11:30-12:30, Room Sully 2.
This talk presents MARCO-BOLO WP 1’s experimental metadata catalogue, built on LinkML and free infrastructure, exploring how rich and reusable biodiversity metadata can become.

PP05: The landscape of EU monitoring projects
A cluster event including the flash talk Barriers to FAIR and the MARCO-BOLO Approach by Dan Lear.
Wednesday 6 May, 11:30-12:30, Room Sully 2.

DT11: How to handle derived data products and outputs for EBVs and EOVs
A session co-convened by Wiebke Pressé, Dan Lear, Guillaume Body, and Steve Formel. Wednesday 6 May, 16:30-17:30, Room Sully 2.

The OBIS contributions at BioMOnWeek at a glance

Tuesday 5 May
11:30-12:30 | DT08 | Parallel Publishing to GBIF and OBIS: Streamlining Marine Biodiversity Data Sharing
15:30-16:30 | Poster session | eDNAqua-Plan recommendations towards a future of federated, curated reference libraries and aligned eDNA (meta)data publishing infrastructure and practices
16:30-17:30 | DT07, Room Joffre G | Standardizing and sharing survey and monitoring data through GBIF and OBIS
16:30-18:00 | MM01 Workshop | Getting kick-started with eDNA-based methods
16:30-18:00 | MM02 Workshop | Understanding EBVs and EOVs