Workshop to advance theory and use of meta-analysis in ecology in the U.S. and China; Spring, 2015, Beijing, China

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Meta-analysis, the quantitative synthesis of individual scientific studies on the same topic, can be a powerful way to reveal overall patterns in nature. In the last two decades, the mathematical theory and statistical techniques for meta-analysis have developed greatly. The first goal of this workshop is to spark the further advances needed to help meta-analysis meet the special challenges of ecological studies that involve complex systems with many factors. The workshop will bring experts in meta-analysis together with experts on key, complex issues in ecology. Meta-analysts will show ecologists the current potentials of meta-analysis, ecologists will inform meta-analysts of challenges that still exceed this potential, and teams will plan a publication on how to advance the capabilities of meta-analysis to yield new insights on critical ecological issues. The second goal of the workshop is to give researchers in the U.S. better access to the very large and rapidly increasing number of ecological studies now being conducted in China. By holding the workshop in China and having participants based in the U.S. and China, organizers will foster the cooperation needed to use this important source of scientific information to advance meta-analysis on ecological issues that are common to both continents. The anticipated longer-term outcome of the workshop will be novel meta-analyses on these complex issues using large literatures. The expected broader impacts of the workshop include advanced training of post-doctoral scholars and graduate students in meta-analysis in ecology, strengthening of scientific collaboration between disciplines and nations, and provision of new scientific information to guide environmental policy and management in the U.S.The six organizers are two leading practitioners of meta-analysis in ecology in the U.S. and four experts on complex ecological issues, two from the U.S. and from China. The three target issues will be maintenance of biodiversity, ecological effects of human uses of natural resources, and ecological consequences of changes in climate. Anticipated advances in meta-analysis include new techniques for dealing with missing information, non-independence of measures or studies, phylogenetic constraints, variation in rigor of experimental design, and uneven coverage of different systems, taxa, and regions. The five-day workshop is planned to take place by the spring of 2015 in Beijing. Approximately 26 participants will be invited, including about 8 post-doctoral scholars and graduate students.