In January, members of the FlowCam team traveled to the Laboratoire d’Oceanographie de Villefranche (LOV), home of the Quantitative Imaging Platform of Villefranche-sur-Mer (PIQv) and EcoTaxa. EcoTaxa is an online platform that combines machine learning and taxonomy resources to support plankton classification and data sharing.
The most recent version of FlowCam’s software—VisualSpreadsheet 6.1—supports users adding metadata to their FlowCam runs and exporting that metadata along with images and particle data in the format required by EcoTaxa.
This workshop offered a rare opportunity to learn directly from the expert users of EcoTaxa at the institution where it was originally developed. Below are some of the highlights from the workshop.
The PIQv team and the Historic LOV Facilities
LOV’s PIQv is a hub for plankton imaging. Learning EcoTaxa tips, tricks, and strategies from the PIQv team—who use it to annotate images from multiple imaging platforms across large-scale projects—will help shape and strengthen future educational resources.
LOV is uniquely situated on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and is home to Point B, one of the longest-running oceanographic time series in Europe. The laboratory building itself has an even longer history, with the first marine station being established in Villefranche in the 1800s. The history and legacy of the scientists who have walked these halls can be felt from the moment you step through the front gate.
This workshop provided a valuable opportunity to connect with past and current FlowCam users from across Europe. It was a pleasure to spend meaningful time discussing previous applications and exploring the projects they plan to pursue in the future.
Applications Scientist Daniela Sturm, seated center, is enjoying EcoTaxa training with other attendees.
Learning and Sharing Best Practices for Using EcoTaxa
Throughout the workshop, we had the opportunity to ask questions and watch demonstrations of how PIQv staff use EcoTaxa, including setting up projects, running predictions, validating images, and exporting data. We also saw firsthand some of the newest features, including WoRMS taxonomy integration and EcoTaxaGuide.
The FlowCam team is planning a two-part webinar series on EcoTaxa.
Introduction to Quantitative Plankton Imaging & EcoTaxa
March 17th, at 3 PM CET, 10 AM EDT
Join Dr. Fabien Lombard as he explores the challenges of studying plankton and the opportunities offered by quantitative plankton imaging. Learn why EcoTaxa was developed at LOV to manage large marine imaging datasets, and watch a brief demonstration of its core features by Leah Gibala-Smith of the FlowCam team. The webinar concludes with a live Q&A.
Click here to learn more & register:
Register for the Webinar
EcoTaxa Boot Camp (date and time to be announced)
This webinar is for current FlowCam users wanting to explore EcoTaxa and learn how to use it. The session will focus on effectively classifying imaging data within EcoTaxa. Registration opens soon.
Special thanks to the LOV & PIQv team members, funders, and taxonomy experts who made this workshop possible.
