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Lifeplan: combining globally distributed biodiversity sampling with new methods of machine learning and big data statistics

Mar 18, 2026 14:00 CET - Mar 18, 2026 15:30 CET
Online

The ERC-synergy Lifeplan (2020-2026) has completed 5 years of globally distributed biodiversity sampling. This has resulted in >100 years of audio, >10 million camera trap images, and >20,000 DNA metabarcoding samples that represent ca. 1 million species of arthropods and fungi – in our knowledge the world’s largest systematically collected biodiversity dataset. In this webinar, we describe the core results of the Lifeplan project, including methodological developments in automated species classification and big data statistics, and new ecological insights obtained from the Lifeplan data.

Programme:

  • Otso Ovaskainen: A brief introduction to Lifeplan (5 mins)
  • Bess Hardwick: A team effort of globally distributed sampling (15 mins)
  • David Dunson: New statistical methods for massive-dimensional biodiversity data (15 mins)
  • Otso Ovaskainen: Automated classification of birds, bats, mammals, insects and fungi, and making ecological sense of the resulting data (15 mins)
  • Brian Fisher: Biodiversity drivers are decoupled across kingdoms in Madagascar (15 mins)
  • Tomas Roslin: New insights on global biodiversity patterns and processes from Lifeplan data (15 mins)
  • Otso Ovaskainen: Concluding remarks, questions & answers

Open webinar on Zoom: https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/66180897512

The webinar will be recorded and shared online after the event. No registration is required.