Workshop to Advance Theory in Ecology; October 21, 2019; State College, PA

科学通过理论、实验和观察的协调发展而进步。在生态学领域，理论的进步反复指导着实验和观察，形成了一门成熟的、具有预测性的学科。理论为入侵物种和害虫的管理提供了基础，指导了保护工作，改进了渔业管理，并有助于有效管理人类、牲畜和野生动物疾病。前所未有的环境变化速度带来了新的挑战，人类活动对气候和环境的主要影响，以及现在可获得的大量数据突出了对新生态理论的需求，新生态理论需要新方法、新合作和相关子学科之间的整合。本次研讨会邀请了不同职业阶段、不同理论背景和技能、不同地理和文化背景的研究人员。研讨会期间发展的新的理论方向和合作将指导未来的研究。新的理论路径将为培训未来几代生态学家和我们的劳动力提供基础，确保他们拥有解决新出现问题的必要技能。研讨会直接和间接产生的理论将加速一门学科的发展，这门学科处于粮食安全、公共卫生、环境变化和资源限制等全球问题的核心。讲习班活动和讨论将确定生态学中需要更新理论的关键领域；建立推进这些理论所需的方法；确定需要新理论的新兴领域；制定推进生态理论的议程。最初的研讨会讨论涉及的主题包括跨越生态组织水平的理论；不确定性理论、生态变异和预测极限以及瞬态和非平稳性的作用。大小小组的讨论将辩论并确定推进这些和其他关键当代生态问题所需的理论方法。小组将决定什么时候需要全新的理论，什么时候混合现有的方法可以解决一个挑战。同时，需要理论的全新领域将从小组讨论中出现。这些可能包括共同面临挑战的学科，建立新的或加强现有的合作。结果将发表在主要期刊上。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Science advances through coordinated developments in theory, experimentation, and observation. In the field of ecology, theoretical advances have repeatedly guided experiments and observation, resulting in a mature, predictive discipline. Theory has provided the basis for management of invasive species and pests, guided conservation efforts, improved fisheries management, and contributed to the effective management of human, livestock and wildlife diseases. New challenges posed by unprecedented rates of environmental change, the dominant effects of human activity on climate and the environment, and the massive amounts of data now available highlight the need for new ecological theory that is invigorated by novel approaches, new collaborations, and the integration across relevant sub-disciplines. This workshop engages researchers at diverse career stages, with different theoretical backgrounds and skills, and from different geographical and cultural backgrounds. New theoretical directions and collaborations developed during the workshop will guide future research. New theoretical paths will provide the foundation for training future generations of ecologists and our workforce, ensuring they have the requisite skills to tackle emerging problems. Theory directly and indirectly resulting from the workshop will accelerate the advancement of a discipline that lies at the heart of global problems such as food security, public health, environmental change, and resource limitation. Workshop activities and discussions will identify key areas in ecology that need reinvigorated theory; establish the approaches needed to advance these theories; identify emergent areas in need of new theory; and develop an agenda for advancing ecological theory. Initial workshop discussions tackle topics including theory that spans levels of ecological organization; theory of uncertainty, ecological variation, and the limits of prediction; and the role of transients and non-stationarity. Discussions in large and small groups will debate and determine the theoretical approaches needed to advance these and other critical contemporary ecological questions. Groups will determine when entirely new theory is needed and when hybridization of existing approaches may address a challenge. Simultaneously, entirely new areas in need of theory will emerge from group discussions. These may include disciplines that share common challenges, forging new or strengthening existing collaborations. Results will appear as publications in leading journals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.