Field stations and marine labs join forces to tackle national environmental challenges
A world threatened by extreme weather, invasive species, emerging disease and increasing uncertainty needs the scientific capacity to face those challenges. Natural laboratories around the country, which have been placing researchers on the front lines of understanding and managing environmental change for a century, form the building blocks of that capacity. Today the Organization of Biological Field Stations and The National Association of Marine Laboratories release a report showing how scientists in communities across the continent respond to emerging questions in flexible and nimble ways, and are poised to work together to contribute to global solutions.
Field stations and marine labs (FSMLs) are the primary places scientists go to study environmental processes in their natural context, and as such they harbor the knowledge of the past that we need to predict the future. They host thousands of individual researchers at hundreds of locations, and are the birthplace of many of the innovations and discoveries that drive environmental science today. Recent large-scale initiatives, such as the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), as well as the longer-running Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network, depend on existing FSML infrastructure—and the novel insights these new observatories generate will stimulate complementary research at many more field stations and marine labs.
However, only a small fraction of FSMLs participates in these broader-scale scientific initiatives. NEON and LTER represent 10% of the available long-term, place-based, multiple-investigator environmental research sites. The report Field Stations and Marine Laboratories of the Future: A Strategic Vision , based on a national workshop and survey and on input from the broader scientific community, recommends creating a Network Center to catalyze broader-scale science and to facilitate participation in coordinated environmental efforts. For example, a stronger network of FSMLs could contribute to evolving national and international programs such as the sustained National Climate Assessment or the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network.
Field stations and marine labs have the flexibility and the logistical and intellectual capacity to support novel experimental approaches across tremendous ecological diversity. Collectively, they represent billions of dollars of investment in research infrastructure including sites (forests, fields and waterfronts) and tools (sensors, ships and cyberinfrastructure), and have trained generations of environmental scientists.
This report is a first step in making sure the nation's investment in field stations and marine labs continues to meet the dynamic and changing needs of scientists, students, and the public they serve.
The National Association of Marine Laboratories (NAML), organized in the late 1980's, is a nonprofit organization of over 120 members employing more than 10,000 scientists, engineers, and professionals and representing marine and Great Lakes laboratories stretching from Guam to Bermuda and Alaska to Puerto Rico. The member institutions of the National Association of Marine Labs work together to improve the quality and effectiveness of ocean, coastal and Great Lakes research, education and outreach. Through these unique national and regional networks, NAML encourages ecosystem-based management, wise local land management and the understanding and protection of natural resources.
The Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that represents field stations throughout the world. The mission of OBFS is to help member stations increase their effectiveness in supporting critical research, education, and outreach programs. OBFS pursues this goal in a manner that maximizes diversity, inclusiveness, sustainability, and transparency.
The American Geophysical Union recently sponsored a seminar on legal issues related to field trips and field courses. We think there is a lot of useful information here for field stations!
This webinar and the ensuing discussion touches a number of pertinent issues, including safety, liability, dealing with behaviors, and working with the legal counsel of your institution.
We are working on the agenda for the OBFS Annual Meeting, set for September 19-22, 2013 at the Southwestern Research Station in Portal, Arizona. The theme of the meeting will focus on how biodiversity is shaping the evolution of research and education at field stations. Information about the annual meeting is posted online at http://www.obfs.org/annual-meeting.
Please send us any ideas you are really excited about and would like to see as topics of concurrent sessions during the meeting. These can be related to the biodiversity theme or not. Let us know if you are willing to organize the session or have ideas about who else could organize it.
Please send your ideas to me or our meeting host, Dawn Wilson ([email protected]).
Thank you for your help,
Karie Slavik, OBFS Vice President
Dawn Wilson, Director, Southwestern Research Station
The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to make a positive impact around the world in more than 30 countries, all 50 United States, and your backyard. Founded in 1951, the mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. The Channel Islands of California are globally renowned conservation priorities. For over three decades, The Conservancy has worked with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Game and other partners to engage in an intensive, science‐based restoration program designed to revitalize the natural communities of the islands.
Today, Santa Cruz Island (SCI), 76% of which is owned by the Conservancy, has emerged as a leading example for successful island restoration and innovative conservation. The Conservancy and its partners remain focused on preserving the islands unique plants and animals and sharing lessons learned in island restoration with other island conservation projects around the world.
The Nature Conservancy’s vision for the California Islands Program utilizes SCI as a platform to influence, promote and collaborate in the restoration and ecological enhancement of islands of conservation importance, in and beyond California. The California Islands Ecologist provides scientific leadership and support for the Conservancy’s projects and initiatives on Santa Cruz Island and the broader Channel Islands system.
The California Islands Ecologist leads and supports planning and implementation of biodiversity conservation, threat abatement, ecosystem restoration, and ecological monitoring projects. S/he coordinates and advances the Conservancy’s Santa Cruz Island applied research agenda and facilitates field work and logistical support for research, project development and monitoring. S/he independently identifies conservation issues and information gaps and applies the scientific approach to address those issues. S/he participates on multidisciplinary teams with Conservancy staff and partners to develop ecosystem conservation strategies. S/he develops and leverages a network of external scientific colleagues, collaborators, partners and students to deliver information needed to advance the Conservancy’s conservation strategies and objectives. S/he conducts field surveys, assessments and research, manages data, writes project reports and proposals, and delivers conservation tools, biodiversity data, field services and training to Conservancy staff and its partners. S/he writes and manages grants and contracts. S/he writes and submits for publication research papers and other articles on the biodiversity, ecology and management of the Channel Islands. S/he presents talks on island biodiversity, ecology and conservation management to audiences ranging from Conservancy leadership to museum and volunteer groups to scientific conferences and symposia.
For more information and to apply, please visit www.nature.org/careers and search for job ID# 40817 in the keyword search. The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
