ORAL - Deneudt

There is an increasing need for measuring biodiversity and quantification of the rate of its decrease. Recently various international initiatives aim to map marine biodiversity by compiling datasets that reach beyond the scientific objectives of one individual scientist or research group. These compilations rely on data management systems that can store marine biological data in its original context and that can feed their data into the international dataset. Marine biological data is often gathered during ecological surveys and since environmental conditions largely determine the presence of species, the biological data rarely goes without detailed measurements of the corresponding abiotic conditions. Storing marine biological data in its original context therefore implies integration of biological, physical and chemical data. In conclusion, a general data collection system for marine survey data is sufficiently generic to integrate different data types coming from various sources, takes into account internationally accepted vocabularies and includes functionalities for transfer to international data compilations. With the IMERS database (Integrated Marine Environmental Readings and samples), the Flanders Marine Institute has set up a system that aims to meet these requirements. The use of IMERS in various national and international projects will be demonstrated.

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