International: Training global change ecologists through a US-Spain collaboration

生态学越来越被视为一门全球性的变化科学。然而，大多数年轻的生态学家并不知道国际上研究全球变化的生态反应的方法，同样，他们也不熟悉导致其他国家的科学家和公民以不同方式应对气候变化的文化差异。该项目将培训美国学生，通过直接的国际研究经验，迎接未来全球变化生态领域的挑战。宾夕法尼亚州立大学的研究人员将与西班牙马德里高级调查中心和雷胡安·卡洛斯大学的调查人员合作。每年，两名研究生和两名本科生将加入西班牙团队，从事他们自己设计的结合气候变化、植被和土壤的研究项目。这些项目将利用在参与该项目的主要机构进行的气候梯度实验和气候操纵，并将包括对植物成分、生长、繁殖、生理和土壤水分、养分循环和生物活性的测量。我们专注于不同的生态系统(美国东北部温带森林与地中海)，以确定可能导致对气候变化的生态反应的更普遍理解的机制。美国-西班牙学生国际研究体验项目将培养新一代全球变化生态学家，并为年轻科学家催化国际网络，这将影响他们的整个职业生涯。参与者将从波多黎各大学、马亚格斯大学和宾夕法尼亚州立大学招募。结果将通过宾夕法尼亚州立大学环境可持续发展的一般教育课程、西班牙和美国学生共同撰写的同行评议出版物以及学生在校园和国内或国际会议上的演讲来传播。最终，该项目将为学生提供国际培训，扩大代表不足群体的参与，并将及时的研究活动与更广泛的大学社区的教育结合起来。

Ecology is increasingly viewed as a global change science. Yet, most young ecologists are not aware of international approaches to studying ecological responses to global change, and likewise, they are not familiar with cultural differences that cause scientists and citizens of other countries to respond to climate change in diverse ways. This project will train U.S. students to meet future challenges in the field of global change ecology through a direct international research experience. Researchers from Penn State will collaborate with investigators at the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas and the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain. Annually, two graduate students and two undergraduate students will join the Spanish teams and undertake research projects of their own design that integrate climate change, vegetation, and soils. These projects will take advantage of climate gradient experiments and climate manipulations taking place at the primary institutions involved in the project and will include measurements of plant composition, growth, reproduction, physiology, and soil moisture, nutrient cycling, and biological activity. We focus on diverse ecosystems (northeastern US temperate forest vs. Mediterranean) to identify mechanisms that may lead to a more generalizable understanding of ecological responses to climate change. This US-Spain International Research Experiences for Students project will train a new generation of global change ecologists and catalyze international networks for the young scientists that will impact their entire careers. Participants will be recruited from Universidad Puerto Rico Mayagüez and Penn State University. Results will be disseminated through a Penn State general education class in Environmental Sustainability, peer reviewed publications co-authored by Spanish and US students, and presentations by students on campus and at national or international meetings. Ultimately, this project will provide international training for the students, broaden the participation of underrepresented groups, and integrate timely research activities with the education of the broader university community.