The SCAR Antarctic Biodiversity Portal, in partnership with the SCAR Expert Group on Antarctic Biodiversity Informatics and SCARfish, organised a hybrid workshop on Southern Ocean species traits from 30 March to 3 April 2026 at KU Leuven.
Workshop Highlights
Participants gained practical insights into the two major marine species traits databases and explored methods for improving interoperability and accessibility of biodiversity data.
Topics covered included:
- Navigating the WoRMS platform and taxonomy tools
- Accessing species traits via the WoRMS API
- Using the
worrmsR package for data retrieval workflows - Best practices for managing and standardising marine trait data
- Hands-on training sessions for entering new species trait information into WoRMS
A substantial part of the workshop focused on collaborative data entry and curation workflows, supported directly by the WoRMS Data Management Team.
Building Collaboration Across the Antarctic Biodiversity Community
Beyond the scientific sessions, the workshop created valuable opportunities for participants to connect, exchange ideas, and establish future collaborations across the Southern Ocean biodiversity community.
The full report of the workshop can be consulted here
Participants of the 2026 Antarctic Marine Species Traits Workshop at KU Leuven.
A sincere thank you to all participants, the WoRMS DMT and Fishbase for their enthusiasm, expertise, and commitment to advancing Antarctic biodiversity knowledge.