International: Training global change ecologists through a US-Spain collaboration

生态学越来越被视为一门全球变化科学。 然而，大多数年轻的生态学家不知道国际方法来研究生态对全球变化的反应，同样，他们不熟悉文化差异，导致科学家和其他国家的公民以不同的方式应对气候变化。 该项目将通过直接的国际研究经验来培养美国学生应对全球变化生态学领域未来的挑战。 来自宾夕法尼亚州立大学的研究人员将与西班牙马德里的上级科学研究中心和雷伊胡安卡洛斯大学的研究人员合作。 每年，两名研究生和两名本科生将加入西班牙团队，并开展自己设计的研究项目，将气候变化，植被和土壤结合起来。 这些项目将利用在参与项目的主要机构进行的气候梯度实验和气候操纵，并将包括对植物组成、生长、繁殖、生理和土壤湿度、养分循环和生物活动的测量。我们专注于不同的生态系统（美国东北部温带森林与地中海），以确定机制，可能会导致更普遍的理解生态对气候变化的反应。 这个美国-西班牙学生国际研究经验项目将培养新一代全球变化生态学家，并为年轻科学家促进国际网络，这将影响他们的整个职业生涯。 参与者将从波多黎各大学和宾夕法尼亚州立大学招募。 结果将通过宾夕法尼亚州立大学环境可持续性通识教育课程，西班牙和美国学生共同撰写的同行评审出版物，以及学生在校园和国家或国际会议上的演讲进行传播。 最终，该项目将为学生提供国际培训，扩大代表性不足群体的参与，并将及时的研究活动与更广泛的大学社区的教育相结合。

Ecology is increasingly viewed as a global change science. Yet, most young ecologists are not aware of international approaches to studying ecological responses to global change, and likewise, they are not familiar with cultural differences that cause scientists and citizens of other countries to respond to climate change in diverse ways. This project will train U.S. students to meet future challenges in the field of global change ecology through a direct international research experience. Researchers from Penn State will collaborate with investigators at the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas and the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain. Annually, two graduate students and two undergraduate students will join the Spanish teams and undertake research projects of their own design that integrate climate change, vegetation, and soils. These projects will take advantage of climate gradient experiments and climate manipulations taking place at the primary institutions involved in the project and will include measurements of plant composition, growth, reproduction, physiology, and soil moisture, nutrient cycling, and biological activity. We focus on diverse ecosystems (northeastern US temperate forest vs. Mediterranean) to identify mechanisms that may lead to a more generalizable understanding of ecological responses to climate change. This US-Spain International Research Experiences for Students project will train a new generation of global change ecologists and catalyze international networks for the young scientists that will impact their entire careers. Participants will be recruited from Universidad Puerto Rico Mayagüez and Penn State University. Results will be disseminated through a Penn State general education class in Environmental Sustainability, peer reviewed publications co-authored by Spanish and US students, and presentations by students on campus and at national or international meetings. Ultimately, this project will provide international training for the students, broaden the participation of underrepresented groups, and integrate timely research activities with the education of the broader university community.