RCN: The Macrosystems Ecology For All (MEFA) Research Coordination Network

RCN：全民宏观系统生态 (MEFA) 研究协调网络

• 批准号: 2213541
• 负责人: Laurel Anderson
• 金额: $ 49.98万
• 依托单位: Ohio Wesleyan University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2027-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2213541&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RCN; Macrosystems; Ecology; MEFA; Research

Environmental challenges facing the world today can be global in scale, like climate change, or regional in scale, like drought. Large-scale environmental conditions interact with local ecosystems: climate change may lead to a drought that dries local vegetation, increasing the risk of wildfire. Human land use patterns may enable fire in one site to spread quickly to other sites, leading to regional fire hazards. This example illustrates how understanding connections among ecological phenomena across scales allows scientists to make predictions about environmental disturbances. Macrosystems ecology is an emerging scientific field that explores links among geophysical, biological, and social-cultural processes at different scales. This work is informed by analysis of increasingly large environmental datasets, like those made available by the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). However, not all ecology faculty, particularly those from teaching-oriented institutions, have been trained in macrosystems ecology concepts and techniques, or in working with large sets of environmental data. Indeed, there is a large pool of ecology faculty who could engage with macrosystems ecology but are not doing so. The Macrosystems Ecology For All (MEFA) Research Coordination Network (RCN) will provide a gateway for such faculty to learn more about macrosystems concepts, update their data science skills, design inclusive research projects that resonate with their scientific interests, and foster hands-on research with undergraduates. Collaboration across institutions will be emphasized to build camaraderie for team science, share expertise, and address large-scale ecological questions with efficiency. Having more researchers from diverse personal and institutional backgrounds engaging with macrosystems ecology will bring fresh perspectives and innovation to this important scientific field. Through the faculty training provided by MEFA, more undergraduate students from different communities will be exposed to emerging data science and macrosystems concepts. By providing faculty development in a supportive framework, MEFA will enhance the skills of its faculty participants and enable them to build a diverse and inclusive scientific workforce prepared to engage with the extraordinary environmental challenges of the 21st century.The MEFA RCN will sponsor five in-person meetings and a series of online workshops that provide training in data science techniques, highlight examples of macrosystems research, and support the development of collaborative teams and multi-site projects that engage undergraduates in macrosystems ecology research. MEFA will partner with other networks including NEON, the BEDE (Biological and Environmental Data Education) Network, and Project EDDIE (Environmental Data-Driven Inquiry and Exploration) in developing these training activities. MEFA will have a strong emphasis on promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ), providing training on diversity issues in a collaborative science context, and requiring that all research projects have a DEIJ plan. MEFA will recruit faculty from minority-serving institutions and provide support for faculty from underrepresented groups serving in project leadership roles within the network. MEFA will be governed by a Network Management Team who will facilitate the daily workings of MEFA and a Network Advisory Team who will provide macrosystems ecology expertise, DEIJ advice, and guidance on vision and organizational priorities. Assessment of MEFA’s progress toward its goals will be provided by Measurement Resources Company (MRC), a national measurement and evaluation firm.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.

当今世界面临的环境挑战可以是全球性的，如气候变化，也可以是区域性的，如干旱。大规模的环境条件与当地生态系统相互作用：气候变化可能导致干旱，使当地植被干枯，增加野火的风险。人类的土地利用模式可能使一个地点的火灾迅速蔓延到其他地点，导致区域火灾危险。这个例子说明了如何理解跨尺度生态现象之间的联系，使科学家能够对环境干扰做出预测。宏观系统生态学是一个新兴的科学领域，探索地球物理，生物和社会文化过程在不同尺度上的联系。这项工作是通过分析越来越大的环境数据集，如国家生态观测网络（氖）提供的数据。然而，并不是所有的生态学教师，特别是那些从教学为导向的机构，已经在宏观系统生态学的概念和技术，或在与大型环境数据集工作的培训。事实上，有大量的生态学教师可以从事宏观系统生态学，但没有这样做。所有人的宏观系统生态学（MEFA）研究协调网络（RCN）将为这些教师提供一个网关，以了解更多关于宏观系统的概念，更新他们的数据科学技能，设计与他们的科学兴趣产生共鸣的包容性研究项目，并促进与本科生的动手研究。将强调跨机构的合作，以建立团队科学的同志情谊，分享专业知识，并有效地解决大规模的生态问题。拥有更多来自不同个人和机构背景的研究人员参与宏观系统生态学将为这一重要科学领域带来新的视角和创新。通过MEFA提供的教师培训，更多来自不同社区的本科生将接触到新兴的数据科学和宏观系统概念。通过在一个支持性框架内提供教师发展，MEFA将提高其教师参与者的技能，使他们能够建立一支多元化和包容性的科学队伍，为应对21世纪世纪的特殊环境挑战做好准备。MEFA RCN将赞助五次面对面会议和一系列在线研讨会，提供数据科学技术培训，突出宏观系统研究的例子，支持协作团队和多站点项目的发展，使本科生参与宏观系统生态学研究。MEFA将与包括氖、BEDE（生物和环境数据教育）网络和EDDIE（环境数据驱动的调查和探索）项目在内的其他网络合作开展这些培训活动。MEFA将大力强调促进多样性，公平，包容和正义（DEIJ），在合作科学背景下提供多样性问题的培训，并要求所有研究项目都有DEIJ计划。MEFA将从少数民族服务机构招聘教师，并为网络内担任项目领导角色的代表性不足的群体的教师提供支持。MEFA将由一个网络管理团队和一个网络咨询团队管理，网络管理团队将促进MEFA的日常工作，网络咨询团队将提供宏观系统生态学专业知识，DEIJ建议以及关于愿景和组织优先事项的指导。MEFA的进展评估将由国家测量和评估公司测量资源公司（MRC）提供。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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。