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

生物圈在过去50年中的变化比人类历史上任何时期都要大。环境变化、土地利用变化和入侵物种的引入，通过改变生命与维持生命的非生命环境之间的基本关系，共同影响生命系统。许多变化挑战了我们对生物圈如何运作的理解--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。宏观系统生物学的研究正在发展所需的基本科学知识，以了解区域到大陆和年度到十年尺度的生物圈，量化调节生物圈的强和弱力量，并预测环境和土地使用变化的后果，以及入侵物种对生命系统的影响，这是很难从当地或全球尺度的研究中推断出来的。宏观系统生态学试图在最广泛的空间尺度上理解生态过程和相互作用，并有可能帮助解决全球重要的社会和生态挑战。通过出版物，演讲和综合活动，如研讨会和专题讨论会，分享这一领域的关键进展。该会议奖将支持宏观系统生物学和早期氖科学研究人员，博士后科学家和研究生的会议。 对宏观系统生物学研究和教育的大量投资正在产生对宏观尺度模式和过程的新见解。会议将通过以下方式推进宏观系统生物学和早期氖科学：1）提供一个论坛，总结和讨论宏观系统生物学和早期氖科学的科学; 2）促进科学家和研究生在资助项目中的合作和综合; 3）促进与会者，特别是早期职业科学家的网络和专业发展;和4）开发一系列综合论文。会议的主要主题包括：1）扩展; 2）团队科学和教育; 3）大数据和相关挑战。这些主题的讨论将产生见解，以产生新的宏观系统生物学理论和最佳实践，这将标志着宏观系统生物学新兴子学科的重大进展。这次会议将通过专业发展和各种科学家的参与，积极研究人员的合作和综合，以及通过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，包括职业阶段和学术等级，地理来源，学术机构类型，学科专业知识，性别，种族和民族，社会经济背景，性取向和残疾状况。本次会议的很大一部分资金专门用于支持早期职业科学家。会议之后，将在《生态与环境前沿》杂志的特刊上发表由此产生的综合论文。通过面对面的时间，正式的讲座，分组讨论，并在开发特刊的后续对话，预计特刊将激发新的想法和进展，在宏观系统生物学，并作为基准，建立和描述重要的元素，方法，和见解宏观系统生物学为更广泛的科学界。

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.