The OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA) is a long-term action that supports the IOC International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange Programme and other IOC global and regional initiatives in delivering training and collaborative developing human capacity and skills. OTGA is now delivering a series of self-paced training courses on different topics related to ocean science and data management, which are open and freely available to participants around the world. These self-taught courses include reading material, presentations, references, and exercises designed by Ocean Experts to help learners assess their own learning at their own pace.
The following self-paced training courses are currently available in OTGA e-learning platform:
IOC/OTGA/PacMAN_eDNA: Marine Invasive Species Early Detection: Utilising Molecular Tools
IOC/OTGA/OIH: Implementing the Ocean Data and Information System (ODIS) architecture
IOC/OTGA/OBIS: Contributing and publishing datasets to OBIS
IOC/OTGA/OL: Ocean Literacy self paced training courses
The National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK) recently joined the OBIS network and will serve as the national OBIS node for the Republic of Korea (KOBIS).
MABIK was established in 2015 as the national agency responsible for developing the marine economy and creating value using marine bio resources. The overall aim of MABIK is to turn marine biological resources into national assets, contributing to the advancement of marine research, economy, and education.
Amongst other activities, MABIK runs the:
(i) Marine Bio-Resource Information System (MBRIS) which is a spatial information system to manage species occurrence data. (ii) Marine Genome Information System, which offers genome information on marine organisms.
MABIK joined IODE as an Associate Data Unit and will host the Korean OBIS node (KOBIS). MABIK will share and publish marine biodiversity information from around the Korean Peninsula with OBIS.
We are glad to announce that Ms Ana Carolina Mazzuco (Brazil) joined the IOC Project office for IODE (Belgium) and will be responsible for the activities of the IOC and its IODE capacity development programme.
Ana Carolina will be supporting the network of OTGA training centers, which aim to enhance the capacity of countries to research, observe, and provide services towards a more sustainable ocean, using the OTGA internet-based training platform that supports classroom training, blended training, and online (distance) learning.
Ana Carolina is an ocean scientist with a B.Sc. in Biology and Coastal Management, a M.Sc. in Marine Biology, and a PhD in Oceanography. She has been dedicated to understanding changes in seascapes and marine biodiversity, and in the last years, focused on the contributions of long-term marine sites to ocean observation and conservation of marine life.
We are glad to announce that recently two new staff members joined the OBIS secretariat at the IODE Project Office.
Mr Silas Principe (Brazil) has joined our OBIS secretariat on 11 April 2023. He is based at the IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende (Belgium). Silas will be supporting the MPA Europe project, an EU co-funded project which aims to map the optimal locations for Marine Protected Areas in European seas. Together with the OBIS team involved in the project, he will predict the potential distribution of marine species and biogenic habitats in Europe. This information will then be used to detect the areas of highest importance in terms of biodiversity conservation. More information on MPA Europe see: https://obis.org/2023/03/10/MPA_europe/.
Silas is an ecologist with a B.Sc. in Marine Biology and M.Sc. in Zoology from universities in Brazil. His research focused on the effects of climate change on coastal areas, from individuals to communities. He is now concluding his PhD in Oceanography, studying how climate change will affect the distribution of reef species in the Western Atlantic. Silas is interested in a broad range of topics, as ecophysiology, thermal biology and biodiversity modelling.
Silas can be reached by email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Ms Lisa Benedetti has joined our OBIS Secretariat on 6 March 2023, as an IOC consultant. Lisa will be supporting a new 4-year EU-funded project, MARCO-BOLO (MARine COastal BiOdiversity Long-term Observations) which aims to structure and strengthen European coastal and marine biodiversity observation capabilities. Her role will be to help establish and motivate communities of practice during the design and co-creation of fit-for-purpose data and information products. More information on MARCO-BOLO: https://obis.org/2023/04/19/marco-bolo-obis/
Lisa is an ecologist with a B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. from universities in Canada. Her thesis research focused on MPAs as a fisheries management tool in the Caribbean. She began her professional career as a field ecologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada. Since then, she has been working on a wide range of ocean topics and contributed to international capacity development and science to policy initiatives with UN agencies and global NGOs around the world. Over the years, Lisa has worked with a wide range of ocean stakeholders and brings together a diverse skill set including project management, research and writing, intergovernmental negotiations, and capacity building training. Since 2020, Lisa has been working with IOC-UNESCO in varying capacities and we are now pleased to have her join our team.
Lisa can be reached by email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We are glad to announce that Ms Ana Carolina Mazzuco (Brazil) joined the IOC Project office for IODE (Belgium) and will be responsible for the activities of the IOC and its IODE capacity development programme.
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Mr
Lisa is an ecologist with a B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. from universities in Canada. Her thesis research focused on MPAs as a fisheries management tool in the Caribbean. She began her professional career as a field ecologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada. Since then, she has been working on a wide range of ocean topics and contributed to international capacity development and science to policy initiatives with UN agencies and global NGOs around the world. Over the years, Lisa has worked with a wide range of ocean stakeholders and brings together a diverse skill set including project management, research and writing, intergovernmental negotiations, and capacity building training. Since 2020, Lisa has been working with IOC-UNESCO in varying capacities and we are now pleased to have her join our team.