Pieter Provoost

Marine science & biodiversity informatics

I'm a marine scientist and data engineer, working as a biodiversity informatician at UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

Experience

2015 –
OBIS data manager IOC-UNESCO · Oostende, Belgium

At IOC-UNESCO, I lead the development and maintenance of the OBIS marine biodiversity platform, and provide support to the OBIS network as well as to users of OBIS data. Besides my work on the core OBIS infrastructure I also develop software and platforms for data publishing, quality control, and data analysis.

2013 – 2015
Software engineer ADMB · Brugge, Belgium

At ADMB (now Liantis), I designed and built IT systems for the occupational health subsidiary, including a platform for registering, analysing, and synchronising workplace environmental exposure data.

2011 – 2013
Software engineer Colruyt Group · Deinze, Belgium

At Colruyt Group, I handled technical analysis and delivery of logistics projects for order picking and transport across Colruyt Group brands (Colruyt, Colruyt France, Bio-Planet, and Dreamland). I scaled up e-commerce home delivery and developed an automated freezer warehouse with our industrial automation partner.

2005 – 2011
Junior researcher Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) · Yerseke, Netherlands Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie · Paris, France Observatoire Oceanologique de Villefranche · Villefranche-sur-Mer, France

At NIOO, I carried out field, laboratory, and desktop-based research for international projects and initiatives such as Westbanks, BOOM, CARBOOCEAN, and MARBEF. This included field sampling, mesocosm experiments, chemical analyses, ecological modelling, image analysis, and time-series analysis.

Education

2005
Master of Marine and Lacustrine Sciences Ghent University, Belgium
2004
Master of Science, Zoology Ghent University, Belgium
Ongoing
Advanced Bachelor of Bioinformatics Howest University of Applied Sciences
June 2006
CARBOOCEAN summer school: Modelling of the marine carbon cycle from small to global scale Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
July 2004
CARBOOCEAN summer school: Measurement methods for the carbon system and related tracers in sea water CSIC, Vigo, Spain
July 2004
Session Interuniversitaire de Phycologie Fondamentale (PHYCO) Observatoire Océanologique de Roscoff, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France
August 2003
Session Interuniversitaire de Zoologie et Ecologie Marine (SIZEM) Observatoire Océanologique de Roscoff, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France

Software

ghettoblaster

NCBI BLAST client for R.

ghettoblaster

pqv

Command line parquet viewer.

pqv

wktmap.com

Parses, visualizes, and shares WKT strings in a variety of coordinate reference systems.

wktmap.com

Publications

2026

  1. Principe, S. C., Provoost, P., Appeltans, W., Assis, J., Burrows, M., Stephenson, F., Addamo, A., & Costello, M. (2026). Mapping marine species distributions to inform the design of protected areas in Europe. Nature Scientific Data (in Review).

2025

  1. Dornelas, M., Antão, L. H., Bates, A. E., Brambilla, V., Chase, J. M., Chow, C. F. Y., Fontrodona-Eslava, A., Magurran, A. E., Martins, I. S., Moyes, F., & others. (2025). BioTIME 2.0: Expanding and improving a database of biodiversity time series. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 34(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.70003
  2. Duffy, J. E., Appeltans, W., Benson, A., Connolly, R. M., de la Torre-Castro, M., Dierssen, H. M., Fortes, M. D., Fourqurean, J. W., Hessing-Lewis, M., Jarvis, J. C., & others. (2025). Measuring and Reporting on Seagrass as an Essential Ocean Variable for Science and Management. BioScience. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf199

2024

  1. Appeltans, W., Provoost, P., Principe, S. C., Driedger, A., Webb, T., & Costello, M. J. (2024). Biodiversity knowledge and threats on marine life: assessing no-take zones as a refuge for marine species. State of the Ocean Report 2024, 31. https://doi.org/10.25607/4wbg-d349
  2. Suominen, S., Provoost, P., Principe, S., Boulanger, E., Burrows, M. T., Campoy, A. N., Costello, M. J., Earl, C., Gante, H. F., Gillard, E., Hablützel, P. I., Douvere, F., & Appeltans, W. (2024). Engaging communities to safeguard ocean life: UNESCO Environmental DNA Expeditions. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.58337/CBXU3518

2023

  1. Rogers, A. D., Appiah-Madson, H., Ardron, J. A., Bax, N. J., Bhadury, P., Brandt, A., Buttigieg, P.-L., De Clerck, O., Delgado, C., Distel, D. L., & others. (2023). Accelerating ocean species discovery and laying the foundations for the future of marine biodiversity research and monitoring. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1224471
  2. Meyer Raı̈ssa, Appeltans, W., Duncan, W. D., Dimitrova, M., Gan, Y.-M., Jeppesen, T. S., Mungall, C., Paul, D. L., Provoost, P., Robertson, T., & others. (2023). Aligning standards communities for omics biodiversity data: sustainable Darwin core-MIxS interoperability. Biodiversity Data Journal, 11. https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.11.e112420
  3. Bonnet-Lebrun, A.-S., Sweetlove, M., Griffiths, H. J., Sumner, M., Provoost, P., Raymond, B., Ropert-Coudert, Y., & Van de Putte, A. P. (2023). Opportunities and limitations of large open biodiversity occurrence databases in the context of a Marine Ecosystem Assessment of the Southern Ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1150603
  4. Gan, Y.-M., Perez Perez, R., Provoost, P., Benson, A., Peralta Brichtova, A. C., Lawrence, E., Nicholls, J., Konjarla, J., Sarafidou, G., Saeedi, H., & others. (2023). Promoting high-quality data in OBIS: Insights from the OBIS Data Quality Assessment and Enhancement Project Team. Biodiversity Information Science and Standards. https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.7.112018
  5. Meyer Raı̈ssa, Davies, N., Pitz, K. J., Meyer, C., Samuel, R., Anderson, J., Appeltans, W., Barker, K., Chavez, F. P., Duffy, J. E., & others. (2023). The founding charter of the Omic Biodiversity Observation Network (Omic BON). GigaScience, 12. https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giad068
  6. Abarenkov, K., Andersson, A. F., Bissett, A., Finstad, A. G., Fossøy, F., Grosjean, M., Hope, M., Jeppesen, T. S., Kõljalg, U., Lundin, D., Nilsson, R. N., Prager, M., Provoost, P., Schigel, D., Suominen, S., Svenningsen, C., & Frøslev, T. G. (2023). Publishing DNA-derived data through biodiversity data platforms, v1.3. GBIF Secretariat. https://doi.org/10.35035/doc-vf1a-nr22

2022

  1. Zingone, A., Escalera, L., Bresnan, E., Enevoldsen, H., Provoost, P., Richardson, A. J., & Hallegraeff, G. (2022). Databases for the study of harmful algae, their global distribution and their trends. IOC Manual and Guides.
  2. Costello, M. J., Webb, J. T., Provoost, P., & Appeltans, W. (2022). New knowledge on and threats to marine biodiversity. State of the Ocean Report, Pilot Edition. IOC Technical Series 173.

2021

  1. Bresnan, E., Arévalo, F., Belin, C., Branco, M. A. C., Cembella, A. D., Clarke, D., Correa, J., Davidson, K., Dhanji-Rapkova, M., Lozano, R. F., & others. (2021). Diversity and regional distribution of harmful algal events along the Atlantic margin of Europe. Harmful Algae, 102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2021.101976
  2. Satterthwaite, E. V., Bax, N. J., Miloslavich, P., Ratnarajah, L., Canonico, G., Dunn, D., Simmons, S. E., Carini, R. J., Evans, K., Allain, V., & others. (2021). Establishing the foundation for the global observing system for marine life. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.737416
  3. Wells, M. L., Burford, M., Kremp, A., Montresor, M., & Pitcher, G. C. (2021). Guidelines for the study of climate change effects on HABs. https://doi.org/10.25607/OBP-1692
  4. Karlson, B., Andersen, P., Arneborg, L., Cembella, A., Eikrem, W., John, U., West, J. J., Klemm, K., Kobos, J., Lehtinen, S., & others. (2021). Harmful algal blooms and their effects in coastal seas of Northern Europe. Harmful Algae, 102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2021.101989
  5. Anderson, D. M., Fensin, E., Gobler, C. J., Hoeglund, A. E., Hubbard, K. A., Kulis, D. M., Landsberg, J. H., Lefebvre, K. A., Provoost, P., Richlen, M. L., & others. (2021). Marine harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the United States: History, current status and future trends. Harmful Algae, 102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2021.101975
  6. Suominen, S., Appeltans, W., Provoost, P., Ginigini, J., Brodie, G., & Kumar, P. (2021). Pacific Islands Marine Bioinvasions Alert Network (PacMAN) monitoring plan. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Technical Series, 168.
  7. Hallegraeff, G. M., Anderson, D. M., Belin, C., Bottein, M.-Y. D., Bresnan, E., Chinain, M., Enevoldsen, H., Iwataki, M., Karlson, B., McKenzie, C. H., & others. (2021). Perceived global increase in algal blooms is attributable to intensified monitoring and emerging bloom impacts. Communications Earth & Environment, 2(1), 117. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00178-8
  8. Hughes, A. C., Orr, M. C., Ma, K., Costello, M. J., Waller, J., Provoost, P., Yang, Q., Zhu, C., & Qiao, H. (2021). Sampling biases shape our view of the natural world. Ecography, 44(9), 1259–1269. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05926

2019

  1. Buttigieg, P., Appeltans, W., Canonico, G., Chavez, F. P., Deck, J., Glöckner, F. O., Goodwin, K. D., Hunter, M., Kotoulas, G., Janssen, F., & others. (2019). Building a strategy towards an omic biodiversity observation network (Omic BON).
  2. Klein, E., Appeltans, W., Provoost, P., Saeedi, H., Benson, A., Bajona, L., Peralta, A. C., & Bristol, R. S. (2019). OBIS infrastructure, lessons learned, and vision for the future. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 588. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00588
  3. Bresnan, E., Andersen, P., Anderson, D. M., Anglès, S., Arin, L., Belin, C., Berdalet, E., Branco, M., Cembella, A., Clarke, D., & others. (2019). Regional changes in harmful algal events in the North Atlantic area over the last two decades documented using the HAEDAT database.

2018

  1. Muller-Karger, F. E., Miloslavich, P., Bax, N. J., Simmons, S., Costello, M. J., Sousa Pinto, I., Canonico, G., Turner, W., Gill, M., Montes, E., & others. (2018). Advancing marine biological observations and data requirements of the complementary essential ocean variables (EOVs) and essential biodiversity variables (EBVs) frameworks. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5, 211. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00211
  2. Dornelas, M., Antao, L. H., Moyes, F., Bates, A. E., Magurran, A. E., Adam, D., Akhmetzhanova, A. A., Appeltans, W., Arcos, J. M., Arnold, H., & others. (2018). BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 27(7), 760–786. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12729
  3. Bosch, S., Provoost, P., & Appeltans, W. (2018). Fit for purpose? Identifying and resolving quality issues with marine biodiversity datasets in R. PeerJ Preprints. https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.26776v1

2017

  1. De Pooter, D., Appeltans, W., Bailly, N., Bristol, S., Deneudt, K., Eliezer, M., Fujioka, E., Giorgetti, A., Goldstein, P., Lewis, M., & others. (2017). Toward a new data standard for combined marine biological and environmental datasets-expanding OBIS beyond species occurrences. Biodiversity Data Journal, 5. https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.5.e10989

2016

  1. Appeltans, W., Provoost, P., Reed, G., Vandepitte, L., Baker, M., Higgs, N., O’Hara, T., Althaus, F., Amon, D., Bilan, M., & others. (2016). The revival of the deep sea in OBIS. Deep-Sea Life, 8, 24–26.

2015

  1. Braeckman, U., Provoost, P., Sabbe, K., Soetaert, K., Middelburg, J. J., Vincx, M., & Vanaverbeke, J. (2015). Temporal dynamics in a shallow coastal benthic food web: insights from fatty acid biomarkers and their stable isotopes. Marine Environmental Research, 108, 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.04.010

2013

  1. Provoost, P., Braeckman, U., Van Gansbeke, D., Moodley, L., Soetaert, K., Middelburg, J. J., & Vanaverbeke, J. (2013). Modelling benthic oxygen consumption and benthic-pelagic coupling at a shallow station in the southern North Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 120, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2013.01.008

2012

  1. Braeckman, U., Provoost, P., Sabbe, K., Soetaert, K., Middelburg, J. J., Vincx, M., & Vanaverbeke, J. (2012). Temporal dynamics in the diet of two marine polychaetes as inferred from fatty acid biomarkers. Journal of Sea Research, 68, 6–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2011.11.003

2011

  1. Braeckman, U., Provoost, P., Moens, T., Soetaert, K., Middelburg, J. J., Vincx, M., & Vanaverbeke, J. (2011). Biological vs. physical mixing effects on benthic food web dynamics. PLoS One, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0018078
  2. De Backer, A., Van Coillie, F., Montserrat, F., Provoost, P., Van Colen, C., Vincx, M., & Degraer, S. (2011). Bioturbation effects of Corophium volutator: Importance of density and behavioural activity. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 91(2), 306–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2010.10.031

2010

  1. Provoost, P., Van Heuven, S., Soetaert, K., Laane, R., & Middelburg, J. J. (2010). Long-term record of pH in the Dutch coastal zone: a major role for eutrophication-induced changes. Biogeosciences Discussions, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.5194/bgd-7-4127-2010
  2. Braeckman, U., Provoost, P., Gribsholt, B., Van Gansbeke, D., Middelburg, J. J., Soetaert, K., Vincx, M., & Vanaverbeke, J. (2010). Role of macrofauna functional traits and density in biogeochemical fluxes and bioturbation. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 399, 173–186. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08336
  3. Provoost, P., Van Heuven, S., Soetaert, K., Laane, R. W. P. M., & Middelburg, J. J. (2010). Seasonal and long-term changes in pH in the Dutch coastal zone. Biogeosciences, 7(11), 3869–3878. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-3869-2010

2009

  1. Vanaverbeke, J., Braeckman, U., Claus, S., Courtens, W., De Hauwere, N., Degraer, S., Deneudt, K., Goffin, A., Mees, J., Merckx, B., & others. (2009). Long-term data from the Belgian Continental Shelf in the framework of science-based management of the coastal North Sea. Report of the WestBanks Integrative Workshop.
  2. Montserrat, F., Van Colen, C., Provoost, P., Milla, M., Ponti, M., Van den Meersche, K., Ysebaert, T., & Herman, P. M. J. (2009). Sediment segregation by biodiffusing bivalves. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 83(4), 379–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2009.04.010
  3. Vanaverbeke, J., Braeckman, U., Cuveliers, E. L., Courtens, W., Huyse, T., Lacroix, G., Larmuseau, M. H. D., Maes, G. E., Provoost, P., Rabaut, M., & others. (2009). Understanding benthic, pelagic and airborne ecosystem interactions in shallow coastal seas." Westbanks": Final Report Phase 1.

2008

  1. Vanaverbeke, J., Franco, M., Van Oevelen, D., Leon, M., Provoost, P., Steyaert, M., Soetaert, K., & Vincx, M. (2008). Benthic responses to sedimentation of phytoplankton on the Belgian Continental Shelf. In Current status of eutrophication in the Belgian coastal zone (pp. 73–90). Presses Universitaires de Bruxelles.
  2. Vanaverbeke, J., Courtens, W., Deneudt, K., Franco, M. A., Gysels, E. S., Hellemans, B., Huyse, T., Larmuseau, M., Mees, J., Moodley, L., & others. (2008). TROPHOS: fundamental research for policy and sustainable management. Science and Sustainable Management of the North Sea: Belgian Case Studies.

2005

  1. Provoost, P., Schils, T., & Coppejans, E. (2005). Taxonomy and biogeography of macroalgal communities in the upwelling region off the coast of Dhofar, Oman. Ghent University.