New study highlights critical communication challenges in European biodiversity research networks

The research uncovered issues that hinder scientific collaboration and data integration across Europe.

A new study published in June reveals that fragmented communication and coordination undermine the effectiveness of Europe’s leading biodiversity research infrastructures (BioRIs). The research led by Allan T. Souza, Tomáš Martinovič, Carrie Andrew, Yi-Ming Gan, and Erik Kusch, examined the communication strategies of four major European BioRIs, uncovering issues that hinder scientific collaboration and data integration across the continent.

BioRIs address the complex challenges in biodiversity research, scientific collaboration across disciplines and national boundaries, and inform the public and policymakers about the status and challenges of the European biodiversity. The new study focusing on the communication and coordination amongst BioRIs revealed issues in communication strategies of the key European BioRIs, including DiSSCo, eLTER, GBIF and LifeWatch ERIC. 

A graphic showing logos of biodiversity initiatives: GBIF, eLTER, DiSSCo, and LifeWatch ERIC arranged like puzzle pieces.
Conceptual representation of the Biodiversity Digital Twin (BioDT) with the integration of the four research infrastructures (DiSSCo, eLTER, GBIF and LifeWatch ERIC) involved in the development of the digital twin.

The study revealed uneven geographical representation, inconsistent communication practices, and limited data and service cohesion, ultimately impeding collaboration and efficient resource use. The distribution of BioRIs across Europe is imbalanced, leading to unequal research opportunities and capacities between regions. While communication within individual BioRIs is often strong, collaboration between infrastructures remains limited. The absence of shared tools and standard communication channels severely hampers joint efforts and information flow. The study found no standardised approach to communication methods among BioRIs, creating confusion for stakeholders and reducing transparency and accessibility for scientists, policymakers, and the public. Variations in data standards across infrastructures hinder data integration. While some infrastructures share common standards, others maintain highly specialised protocols, restricting broader collaboration and data use. Although some initiatives show promise for harmonisation, broader systemic challenges persist.

Maps of Europe showcasing various biodiversity projects: BIODT, DISSCO, eLTER RI, GBIF, and LifeWatch ERIC, highlighted in different colors.
Distribution and representation of European Biodiversity Research Infrastructures is fragmented (A), with each individual research infrastructure differing in its geographical coverage (B).

“Our findings highlight a critical need for a unified communication framework to break down barriers between these infrastructures,” said lead author Allan T. Souza. “Without it, we risk missing opportunities for impactful, cross-disciplinary research vital to tackling Europe’s and the world’s biodiversity challenges.” While some initiatives to tackle this issue demonstrate the potential for harmonisation, the broader systemic challenges persist.

Violin plot comparing collaboration intensity in research infrastructures (DiSSCo, eLTER, GBIF, LifeWatch) by network type (Between/Within).
Self-reported collaboration intensity within and between four biodiversity research infrastructures (BioRIs). Upper panel: Collaboration of all BioRIs (DiSSCo, eLTER, GBIF and LifeWatch) are largely siloed, with minimal interaction across BioRIs being reported. Lower panel: Across BioRI, collaboration is uniformly low (left), while within BioRI, collaboration varies, with LifeWatch and eLTER showing the highest intensity (right). These patterns highlight limited cross BioRI integration and variable internal cohesion, highlighting the fragmented scenario in the BioRI landscape.

To overcome these barriers, the study argues for these urgent steps. The first one recommends a standardised communication framework. Creating a shared platform with tools for chat, mailing, discussion boards, calendars, and clear public and internal information separation. Another recommendation is to increase geographical coverage that proposes long-term balancing of BioRI representation across Europe through coordinated funding and capacity sharing. The authors also suggest promoting data interoperability, while harmonising standards and deepening understanding of cross-domain differences to improve integration. And last but not least, it is important to leverage good practice examples.

Envisioned solution/tool architecture for the Biodiversity Research Infrastructures (BioRIs) communication and coordination, showing pages in columns and individual components of the solution/tool. Green components are publicly available, orange one are available to everyone after they login to the system and red ones are available only to the members of the given group. At the bottom are Github repositories where the relevant information for given web page are stored.

Addressing fragmentation within European BioRIs requires improving communication, coordination, and interoperability through both technical and institutional measures. Strategic funding, shared platforms, and community engagement will be key to building a more integrated and efficient research network. The study highlights that changes should be gradual, systematic, and informed by proven models of collaboration.

Research article:

Souza A, Martinovič T, Andrew C, Gan Y-M, Kusch E (2025) Fragmented Networks: Challenges in communication and cohesion of European Biodiversity Research Infrastructures. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e148079. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e148079

Robust rattan palm assessed as Endangered, new Species Conservation Profile shows

An African rattan palm species has recently been assessed as Endangered, according to the IUCN Red List criteria. Although looking pretty robust at height of up to 40 m, the palm is restricted to scattered patches of land across an area of 40 km². It grows in reserves and conservation areas in Ghana and a single forest patch in Côte d’Ivoire. Its Species Conservation Profile is published in the open access Biodiversity Data Journal by an international research team, led by Thomas Couvreur, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), France, in collaboration with the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, and the Conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Geneva, Switzerland.

oo_106255The rattan palm is confined to moist evergreen forests with high rainfall, located at 100 to 200 meters above sea level. The species is poorly known, yet it is likely very rare judging from the limited amount of forest habitat remaining across its range. Furthermore, the known populations are isolated from each other by large distances, which makes them particularly vulnerable.

Even though there are gaps of knowledge concerning the rattan palm species, the research team conclude that it is most likely currently declining, due to habitat loss, fragmentation and over-harvesting. Often mistaken for a sister species, commonly used in trade, the stems of the endangered species are largely used in furniture production. When longitudinally split into ribbons, the canes are also used as ropes for thatching, for making baskets and sieves, and to make traps.

“As with most African rattan species, there is inadequate information on the international trade, but it is likely to be negligible,” explain the scientists.

“Conservation measures are urgently needed to protect the habitat of this species and to control the unsustainable harvest of the stems. A promising solution might be sustainable cultivation of rattans to avoid the exploitation of wild populations,” suggests Ariane Cosiaux (IRD), the lead author of the study currently based in Cameroon.

With their present paper, the authors make use of a specialised novel publication type feature, called Species Conservation Profile, created by Biodiversity Data Journal, to provide scholarly credit and citation for the IUCN Red List species page, as well as pinpoint the population trends and the reasons behind them.

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Original source:

Cosiaux A, Gardiner L, Ouattara D, Stauffer F, Sonké B, Couvreur T (2017) An endangered West African rattan palm: Eremospatha dransfieldii. Biodiversity Data Journal 5: e11176. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.5.e11176