Enabling the Reuse of Long-Term Marine Biological Observations in Essential Variables Frameworks Through a Practical Approach

Abstract

Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) and Biological and Ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables (BioEco EOVs) are two cooperative conceptual frameworks which help harmonize and process multi-source marine biodiversity observations into robust indexes, in order to measure progress toward policy conservation goals. Long-term monitoring networks are encouraged to contribute to these frameworks by mobilizing historical times series which are suitable for detecting impacts of management policies. In this paper, we identify specific recommendations for increasing reuse in the EV frameworks of the biodiversity historical data collected and maintained by the Gulf of Venice (GOV) site, i.e., the monitoring facility that is selected as case study in the Italian Long-Term Ecological Research network (LTER-Italy). The recommendations are obtained through a practical approach comprising two phases. In the first phase, a literature review helps extract the guidelines for implementing the principles representing the most recent attempt to unify management of EBV and BioEco EOV data, i.e., Benson’s tenets. In the second phase, we compare the guidelines to the data management practices enacted by the selected monitoring site in order to recommend curation interventions. The outputs of the analysis are discussed in order to verify if the approach and the recommendations are general enough to be replicated in the marine component of monitoring networks to coordinate the LTER data contribution to the EV frameworks.

An ecosystem-based system of variables to enhance marine species and habitat monitoring and conservation: The Adriatic Natura 2000 case study

“…For both directives and EOVs, the alignment consisted in a careful match among the different frameworks' monitoring variables. In order to respect the concept driving EBVs' foundation, which are conceived as collectors that integrate diverse raw data (Brummit et al, 2017;Kissling et al, 2018;Zilioli et al, 2021), the alignment with EBV has been accomplished by considering the potential of a specific variable to contribute to the EBV framework, accounting for the different levels of biodiversity organization (e.g., genetic, species, community, and ecosystem).…”

“…Diverse initiatives that can satisfy these needs are in place, dictated by both legally binding European (EU) frameworks for monitoring (e.g., the Water and the Marine Strategy Framework directives, WFD and MSFD, respectively;EC, 2000;EC, 2008), and global initiatives, such as the Essential Ocean and Biodiversity Variables frameworks (EOVs and EBVs) under the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), respectively (Pereira et al, 2013;Miloslavich et al, 2018). The synergistic combination of these frameworks represents an exceptional opportunity to boost marine biodiversity and ecological processes monitoring, directly funneling data and observations within decision-making processes and thoroughly depicting the status of the aquatic environment at multiple spatial scales (Zilioli et al, 2021;Satterthwaite et al, 2021). However, the advancement and implementation of these frameworks, despite urgent, are still ongoing with some weaknesses and delays (Borja et al, 2010;Rouillard et al, 2018;Manea et al, 2021).…”