Macrosystems Biology and Early NEON Science Investigator Meeting, Alexandria, Virginia, January 8-10, 2018

在过去的50年里，生物圈的变化比人类历史上的任何时候都要大。环境变化、土地利用变化以及入侵物种的引入，通过改变生命与维持生命的非生命环境之间的基本关系，共同影响着生命系统。许多变化挑战了我们对生物圈如何工作的理解--我们所依赖的生态系统将如何应对环境、土地利用、生物多样性和一系列相关环境因素的变化。大系统生物学研究正在发展所需的基本科学知识，以便在区域到大陆和年度到十年的尺度上了解生物圈，量化调节生物圈的强势和弱势，并预测环境和土地利用变化以及入侵物种对生物系统的影响，这是从地方或全球尺度上进行的研究难以推断的。大系统生态学寻求在最广泛的空间尺度上了解生态过程和相互作用，并具有帮助解决全球重要的社会和生态挑战的潜力。通过出版物、演讲和综合活动，如研讨会和研讨会，分享这一领域的关键进展。该会议奖将支持大系统生物学和早期霓虹灯科学研究人员、博士后科学家和研究生的会议。在宏观系统生物学研究和教育方面的大量投资正在产生对宏观尺度上的模式和过程的新见解。会议将通过以下方式推进大系统生物学和早期霓虹灯科学：1)提供一个总结和讨论大系统生物学和早期霓虹灯科学的论坛；2)促进科学家和研究生之间跨资助项目的合作和合成；3)促进与会者，特别是早期职业科学家的联网和专业发展；以及4)开发一系列综合论文。会议的主要主题包括：1)规模；2)团队科学和教育；3)大数据和相关挑战。对这些主题的讨论将产生产生新的大系统生物学理论和最佳实践的见解，这些理论和最佳实践将标志着大系统生物学新兴分支学科的关键进步。这次会议将通过不同科学家的专业发展和参与、活跃的研究人员的合作和综合以及产生新的想法和合成研究产品来扩大影响。与会者在会议上代表了广泛的多样性，涉及职业阶段和学术级别、地理来源、学术机构类型、学科专长、性别、种族和民族、社会经济背景、性取向和残疾状况。这次会议的很大一部分资金专门用于支持早期职业科学家。由此产生的综合论文将在本次会议之后在《生态与环境前沿》杂志的特刊上发表。通过面对面的时间、正式的讲座、分组讨论和后续对话来开发特刊，预计特刊将激发大系统生物学的新思想和新进展，并作为基准，为更广泛的科学界建立和描述大系统生物学的重要元素、方法和见解。

The biosphere has changed more in the past 50 years than during any time in human history. Environmental change, land use change, and the introduction of invasive species that collectively affect living systems by altering the fundamental relationships between life and the non-living environment that sustains it. Many of the changes challenge our understanding of how the biosphere works - how the ecological systems on which we depend will respond to changes in environment, land use, biodiversity, and a host of related environmental factors. Research in Macrosystems Biology is developing the basic scientific knowledge needed to understand the biosphere at regional to continental and annual to decadal scales, to quantify the strong and weak forces regulating the biosphere, and to predict the consequences of environmental and land use change and invasive species on living systems is difficult to extrapolate from studies conducted at local or global scales. Macrosystems ecology seeks to understand ecological processes and interactions at the broadest spatial scales and has potential to help solve globally important social and ecological challenges. Critical advances in this field are shared through publications, presentations, and synthesis activities such as workshops and symposia.This conference award will support a meeting of Macrosystems Biology and Early NEON Science investigators, postdoctoral scientists, and graduate students. Substantial investments in Macrosystems Biology research and education are generating new insights into pattern and process at Macro-scales. The meeting will advance Macrosystems Biology and Early NEON Science by: 1) Providing a forum to summarize and discuss the science of Macrosystems Biology and Early NEON Science; 2) Fostering collaboration and synthesis among scientists and graduate students across funded projects; 3) Facilitating networking and professional development of attendees, especially early career scientists; and 4) Developing a series of synthesis papers. The overarching themes of the meeting include: 1) scaling; 2) team science and education, and 3) big data and associated challenges. Discussion of these themes will yield insights to generate new Macrosystems Biology theory and best-practices that will mark critical advancements in the emerging sub-discipline of Macrosystems Biology. This meeting will broaden impacts through professional development and engagement of a diverse pool of scientists, collaboration and synthesis of active researchers, and by generating new ideas and synthetic research products. The participants represent a broad range of diversity at the meeting across career stage and academic rank, geographic origin, type of academic institution, disciplinary expertise, gender, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, and disability status. A substantial proportion of funding for this meeting is specifically allocated to support early career scientists. The resulting synthesis papers will be published in a special issue in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment following this meeting. Through face-to-face time, formal lectures, break-out groups, and follow up dialogue in developing the special issue, it is anticipated the special issue will galvanize new ideas and advancements in Macrosystems Biology and serve as a benchmark, establishing and describing important elements, methods, and insights in Macrosystems Biology for the broader scientific community.