Science resources available through ESA encompass the activities of the Office of Science Programs, including its Sustainability Science initiative and Issues in Ecology series; efforts that link ESA members to the scientific community at large and make community resources available to members; our journals and other publications; and information about meetings, particularly ESA’s annual meeting, held each August.
Current Highlights
USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center
ESA Science staff are working in partnership with The Wildlife Society (TWS) and the Meridian Institute to help the U.S. Geological Survey plan a new National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center. ESA and its team members are supporting meetings of an Interim Steering Committee charged with developing priorities and a structure for the Center; managing a comprehensive review workshop for stakeholder input; and preparing a final report to guide Center development. Additional information is available at http://nccw.usgs.gov.
Production of fuels from plants and agricultural and forestry wastes can reduce both society's dependence on fossil fuels and net emissions of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the major contributor to global warming. Expanded use of this bioenergy requires assuring that its production and consumption are truly sustainable.
This conference provided 350 attendees the opportunity to hear invited presentations by leading scientists on a variety of topics related to the ecological dimensions of biofuels. The conference concluded with an evening social that included additional poster presentations. More details are available here.
A two-day workshop followed the conference, on March 11-12, 2008, where 40 invited participants
worked on developing a report summarizing opportunities for additional research and strategies for how key stakeholders could respond to those needs.
For additional sources of information on the ecological dimensions of biofuels, click here.
Please contact Dr. Clifford Duke, ESA Director of Science Programs, for additional information (202-833-8773, csduke@esa.org).
Data Sharing Initiative
Ready access to data is a key concern in both basic research and problem-solving in the biological sciences, as the scale and scope of the questions that researchers ask expand, and as global problems demand data collected from around the world. With a grant from the National Science Foundation, the Ecological Society of America is facilitating a series of workshops on data sharing. These workshops are intended to help the ecology, evolution, and organismal biology communities find common ground on how to make data more readily discoverable and accessible in their own disciplines.
There is some indication that southeastern yellow pine forests, including those planted and naturally established, may be at risk of a forest health problem that may result in a local or regional decline in function and productivity. In response to this issue, in June 2007, ESA hosted a workshop that brought together experts to assess the definition and extent of the problem, cause of the problem, and management actions for the short and long term. Products of this project include three white papers and a nontechnical summary, available at www.esa.org/science_resources/forest_health_workshop.php, and presentations at ESA and other national and international meetings.
ESA Sustainability Science Initiative
The ESA Sustainability Science Initiative, supported by the Science Office, is intended to develop a series of activities to examine and articulate the intellectual foundations for a new sustainability science.
NBII Pollinators Node
In collaboration with the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), the Science Office worked to develop a Pollinators web site encompassing a wide range of information on pollinators and organized in a centralized location. The site includes text and links to other sites that house image galleries, identification guides, datasets, fact sheets, species profiles, and monitoring protocols. Staff also developed and organized new content for the site, and will continue to update the site.
ESA is a sponsor of the Eco Trends project
The goal of this project is to increase participation in the development and use of long-term data, and to highlight the value and importance of long-term data in addressing ecological areas of concern. Participation by the ecological community is encouraged.
