The Pelagos database is the result of collaborative work by the Réseau des Stations et Observatoires Marins (RESOMAR), now part of the ILICO research infrastructure. It brings together biodiversity data from the coastal pelagic ecosystem (including time series). One of the goals is to exploit the biological information acquired, to answer scientific questions concerning, for example, the factors controlling the distribution and abundance of pelagic organisms at different spatial and time scales.

The PHYTOBS-MARCOBOLO dataset comprises long-term time series on marine microphytoplankton, from 2003 to 2021, along the entire French metropolitan coastline. Microphytoplankton data cover microscopic taxonomic identifications and counts. The PHYTOBS-MARCOBOLO dataset corresponds to a dataset extracted from the PHYTOBS network (DOI:10.17882/85178). The PHYTOBS network provides the scientific community and stakeholders with validated and qualified data on the biomass, abundance and composition of marine microphytoplankton in coastal and lagoon waters, with the aim of supporting scientific research. PHYTOBS-MARCOBOLO is a dataset used as part of the Horizon Europe MARCO-BOLO project (https://marcobolo-project.eu/), in which we are currently working to understand and analyze multi-decadal trends in coastal and marine biodiversity on a European scale. The PHYTOBS-MARCOBOLO dataset gathers data from 18 sampling sites, selected from the PHYTOBS-Network dataset according to requirements of time series quality and geographical location of sampling sites established as part of the MARCO-COLO project. This dataset was also formatted according to a template imposed for the European project.

The PHYTOBS-Network dataset includes long-term time series on marine microphytoplankton, since 1987, along the whole French metropolitan coast. Microphytoplankton data cover microscopic taxonomic identifications and counts. The whole dataset is available, it includes 25 sampling locations. PHYTOBS-Network studies microphytoplankton diversity in the hydrological context along French coasts under gradients of anthropogenic pressures. PHYTOBS-Network allows to analyse the responses of phytoplankton communities to environmental changes, to assess the quality of the coastal environment through indicators, to define ecological niches, to detect variations in bloom phenology, and to support any scientific question by providing data. The PHYTOBS-Network provides the scientific community and stakeholders with validated and qualified data, in order to improve knowledge regarding biomass, abundance and composition of marine microphytoplankton in coastal and lagoon waters in their hydrological context. PHYTOBS-Network originates of two networks. The historical REPHY (French Observation and Monitoring program for Phytoplankton and Hydrology in coastal waters) supported by Ifremer since 1984 and the SOMLIT (Service d'observation en milieu littoral) supported by INSU-CNRS since 1995. The monitoring has started in 1987 on some sites and later in others. Hydrological data are provided by REPHY or SOMLIT network as a function of site locations.