Jérôme Guitton

EcoBasE: a rEpository solution to gathEr and communicatE information from EwE modEls

It is now clear that research addressed at a large scale can allow for new insights on complex phenomena taking place in the global ocean. Ecological studies are more and more based on data-driven methodologies that rely on pre-existing datasets. However, open-access, digital and cross-disciplinary datasets are still uncommon for ecology. In the face of the global overexploitation of marine resources and rapid degradation of ecosystem integrity, new research tools are required to tackle these issues and enable new powerful, interdisciplinary research capabilities. We have, in fisheries research generally, and at the Fisheries Centre in particular, broad experience with fisheries data collection, and analysis of food web aspects of ecosystem dynamics. With this report titled EcoBase: a repository solution to gather and communicate information from EwE models, Colleter and colleagues have made a big effort at collecting information from all existing ecosystem models worldwide, built using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) approach. EwE is the world’s most widely used ecological modeling approach, and its development is led by Fisheries Centre researchers, including, Villy Christensen, Daniel Pauly and Carl Walters. A new accomplishment is now achieved with the EcoBase project initiated by the Ecopath Research and Development Consortium (ERDC) and carried out by the authors of this report. The ERDC was initiated at the Fisheries Centre in October 2011, and formally established in Edinburgh, Scotland, in May 2012. It contributes to creating synergies and partnerships between scientists in aquatic ecology, and promotes the EwE modeling approach. The main goals of EcoBase are to (i) gather published EwE models; (ii) communicate on EwE modeling research; (iii) facilitate meta-analyses based on EwE models. EcoBase is meant to be a comprehensive, open-access, digital repository where EwE models are made discoverable, accessible and reusable by the scientific community. The structure, capabilities and current state of the EcoBase models repository are described in further details in this report. This represents new opportunities for research and trans-disciplinary analyses, including, trophic functioning, fisheries impact or economic aspects, for which I commend the authors. U. R. Sumaila, Director, Fisheries Centre, UBC.