Marine Biodiversity Networking Fridays || GOOS BioEco EOVs webinar series || Seagrass cover and composition & Macroalgae canopy cover and composition

On September 19th, 2025, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM UTC+0, we will have a special session focusing on the seagrass cover and composition and the macroalgae canopy cover and composition BioEco Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs). Seagrass meadows are biodiversity hotspots, natural coastal protectors, and powerful carbon sinks - yet they remain under-observed on a global scale. Recognised by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) as an EOV, Seagrass Cover and Composition provide vital insights into ocean health, ecosystem resilience, and climate mitigation. Standardised monitoring of this EOV, through in-water surveys and remote sensing, enables reliable, comparable data from local to global scales. Such observations not only track change in real time but also guide conservation strategies, inform policy, and strengthen sustainable coastal management. This webinar will introduce the Seagrass EOV, highlight its scientific and societal importance, and showcase how coordinated monitoring efforts connect local action to global solutions.  Macroalgal forests cover rocky reefs in temperate and cold waters worldwide. These habitats maintain diverse and productive coastal environments and sustain artisanal fisheries providing key services for human wellbeing. Macroalgal canopy cover and composition is the EOV designed to assess the status of macroalgal forests using standardized observing methods. This webinar will explain the EOV's purpose, implementation through specification sheets, potential integration with current observing programs, and how new technologies like environmental DNA and AI imaging enhance monitoring of macroalgal forest biodiversity. The webinar will also highlight the importance of articulating clear hypotheses and appropriate sampling design to generate interpretable data from the EOV and to identify the key drivers of change. Join us to discover how seagrass and macroalgae data can help safeguard both marine ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.  This webinar series is co-organized by the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON), the Atlantic International Research Centre (AIR Centre), the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the BioEcoOcean EU-funded project (Grant Agreement No. 101136748).

Speakers

Seagrass cover and composition

Dimitris Poursanidis Ph.D., FORTH, Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, GR

Dimitris Poursanidis is a marine scientist and Earth observation analyst focused on understanding our seascapes. With expertise in marine ecology and biodiversity, he has dedicated his career to studying marine ecosystems and the impacts of human activity. Driven by a passion for conservation, Dimitris investigates the relationships between marine life and their environment, promoting biodiversity protection and sustainable practices. A key area of his work is coastal ecosystems, where he uses advanced technologies like satellites and drones. Through remote sensing, he monitors the health and extent of key habitats, offering valuable insights into their dynamics and resilience under environmental stress. Beyond monitoring, Dimitris contributes to seascape restoration, applying his knowledge in marine ecology to design effective strategies. 

Lina Mtwana Nordlund Associate Professor, Uppsala University, SW

Dr. Lina Mtwana Nordlund is an Associate Professor in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development at Uppsala University, Sweden, specializing in coastal sustainability. As the Project Coordinator for BioEcoOcean, a Horizon Europe-funded initiative, she focuses on co-creating transformative pathways for biological and ecosystem ocean observations. Her research takes a transdisciplinary approach, emphasizing social-ecological systems and futures thinking, with a particular focus on seagrass ecosystems, fisheries, ecosystem services, and management strategies. Dr. Nordlund is an expert member of the Biology & Ecosystems panel of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), IOC-UNESCO, and co-leads the Seagrass Essential Ocean Variable. She also contributes to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) as a member of Vision 2030 Working Group 2: Protect and Restore Ecosystems and Biodiversity. Additionally, she is a co-author of the World Ocean Assessment III.   See full presentation on Seagrass cover and composition.

Macroalgae canopy cover and composition

Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi Professor, University of Pisa, IT

Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi (LBC) is Professor in Ecology at the University of Pisa and past Vice-Rector for European and International research (2016-2022). LBC’s lab uses marine coastal plants and animals as experimental model systems to address fundamental ecological questions, including the causes and consequences of loss of biodiversity, the ecological impacts of climate change and the role of Marine Protected Areas for the conservation of marine life. LBC is member of the Biology & Ecosystem Panel of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and has served the European Research Council (ERC) Review Panel LS8 of the IDEAS program. LBC has coordinated national and international projects and he is currently the Coordinator of the Biodiversa+ project BioBoost+. LBC has published +185 papers in peer reviewed ecological journals and 10 chapters in book and he is included among the top 2% scientists worldwide in Marine Biology, based on Scopus citation metrics. In 2019, LBC received the International Temperate Reef Symposium award for lifelong contribution to marine sciences.

Jarrett Byrnes Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, USA

Jarrett Byrnes is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His lab, the Coastal Ecology for a Living Planet lab, uses coastal ocean systems to explore questions related to the causes and consequences of change in biodiversity. In particular, the lab focuses on kelp forest ecosystems both in the Northwest Atlantic and around the world as well as coastal urban ecosystems. Byrnes is a member of the Stone Living Lab, the Kelp Ecosystem Ecology Network, and the Biology & Ecosystem Panel of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). See full presentation on Macroalgae canopy cover and composition.

Moderator

Isabel Sousa Pinto Researcher and Professor, CIIMAR, University of Porto, PT

Isabel Sousa Pinto holds a PhD in Marine Biology (phycology) from UCSB, USA. She is a Professor at the University of Porto and Head of the Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation group at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR). She is also a member of its Board of Directors. Her main research has been on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and how is impacted by climate change, invasive species and other anthropogenic drivers. She has a particular focus on the seaweed flora as well as on algal ecophysiology, cultivation and promotion of its sustainability. She is also working on the science-policy-society interfaces and on promoting ocean literacy. She is serving in different European and International steering Committees, is the co-chair of the European Marine Research Network (Euromarine) and the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) from GEO BON and the Knowledge and Data Taskforce from the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We will continue with the Networking Fridays during the next months. More information about future sessions as well as presentations and videos from previous sessions can be found here. Please do not forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel.  Twitter Hashtag: #netfridays. Expect some very exciting mornings, afternoons or evenings, depending on where you are… If you need any additional information please send an email to Catarina Duarte.

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