A Dryland Ecologist’s Mid-Career Retrospective on Long-Term Ecological Research and the Science–Management Interface

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon Bestelmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Science Management ◽  
Jornada Basin ◽  
Land Degradation And Desertification ◽  
Cross Site

My association with the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program has encouraged a multidisciplinary scientific approach emphasizing broad spatial scales and site-based knowledge. It also provides a solid basis from which to link science and management. In my position as a federal research scientist, I do not teach university classes. When I teach in other venues and advise graduate students, my LTER experiences facilitate my ability to draw connections among disciplines that bear on particular ecological problems. Multidisciplinary breadth alongside site-specific depth afforded by the LTER program is especially useful for communicating to the public. It is important to know a lot about one area (place-based knowledge), in addition to something broader. Collaboration is especially important for scientists working together at an LTER site and is also important for cross- site LTER efforts addressing regional to global problems. Within- group collaboration comes rather easily when there are healthy interpersonal relationships. Cross- site collaboration requires greater effort and network-level leadership. I have been a co–principal investigator of the Jornada Basin site (JRN) of the LTER program since 2006 and a research ecologist with the US Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range (JER), since 2003. In both capacities, my research addresses land change in drylands (arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid deserts, grasslands, shrublands, woodlands). Specifically, I work on ecosystem state changes or regime shifts, including subjects such as land degradation and desertification; these may include how land managers perceive and react to state change via mental models, information, and restoration approaches (e.g., Bestelmeyer et al. 2009). My work has been centered at the JRN in the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands of southern New Mexico and also in grasslands and woodlands of Mongolia and Argentina. My activities include those generally associated with academia (research, publishing, grants, and supervising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows) in addition to work that is applied, such as outreach through workshops, trainings, field reviews, and writing to support management or government policy. The trade-off is not teaching university courses, although leading agency workshops and trainings partially fills this niche in my scientific career.

Born and Bred in the Long-Term Ecological Research Network: Perspectives on Network Science and Global Collaborations

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Multidisciplinary Research ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Kansas State University

I am a plant community and ecosystem ecologist who has conducted research within the context of the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network from the beginning of my scientific career, now almost two decades ago. My research has benefited greatly from site-based research at the Konza Prairie (KNZ) LTER site, as well as from network-level syntheses utilizing data sets and knowledge produced by the collective of LTER sites. My involvement in the KNZ LTER site, in particular, has shown me the strength of conducting site-based research, yet my involvement in synthesis activities within the LTER network and beyond has illuminated the limitations of site-based research for addressing cross-site comparative research. To this end, I have been and continue to be a strong proponent of highly coordinated, multisite experiments, and much of my research is comparative in nature. Being involved in the LTER network from the start of my research career has made me a scientist who is well aware of the benefits and power of collaborative, multidisciplinary research. Because of the benefits and breadth of experiences that I have received from such research endeavors, I encourage my graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to also become involved in such research, and I recognize the positive impact collaborative, multidisciplinary research can have on beginning investigators. I believe that individuals outside of the LTER network (ranging from established principal investigators, to young investigators, to graduate students) are often not fully aware of the benefits of being involved in the LTER network or of the advances in ecological understanding that it has made possible. Thus, there is a need for the LTER network to be more proactive and creative in the ways that it attracts new researchers to get involved in the site-based or network-level research. Ultimately, the LTER network will only benefit from increased involvement by new investigators, who also could serve the role of leading the LTER network in the future. I have been affiliated with the LTER program since beginning as a graduate student at Kansas State University.

Tales from a “Lifer” in the Long-Term Ecological Research Program

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra P. C. Peters
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Principal Investigator ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Principal Investigators ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Jornada Basin ◽  
Term Data

As a long-time member of the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network, first as a graduate student and scientist at the Shortgrass Steppe (SGS) site (1984–1997), then as a scientist at the Sevilleta (SEV) site (1996–present) and now as principal investigator at the Jornada Basin (JRN) site (2003–present), my professional career has been shaped almost entirely by my LTER experiences. My experiences in the LTER program directly contributed to my individual-based approach to ecosystem dynamics combined with the knowledge that the dominant ecological processes can change as the spatial extent increases, and that long-term data are critical to disentangle how these pattern–process relationships change across scales. The LTER program has provided me with international experience and exposure that are valuable to my career. My opportunity to travel overseas has led to bonding experiences and new insights into other ecosystems. My appreciation for the value of K–12 education and the amount of work that is involved in “doing it right” has been shaped by my experiences with the Jornada Schoolyard LTER Program. One of the key challenges that I face in working at an LTER site is the tension between continuing to collect long-term observations with the need and desire to test new ideas that often result from the long-term data but then compete for resources with the collection of those data. Another challenge is in mentoring young scientists to become principal investigators, and in cultivating new relationships with potential co–principal investigators. Currently, I am the principal investigator at the JRN LTER program at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I am also a collaborating scientist at the SEV LTER program at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I received my BS in biology at Iowa State University in 1981 and my MS in biology from San Diego State University (SDSU) in 1983. My LTER experiences began as a PhD student at Colorado State University (CSU) through the SGS LTER program in 1984, and these continued while I was a postdoctoral fellow (1988–1989).

Long-Term Ecological Research on the Urban Frontier: Benefiting from Baltimore

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steward T. A. Pickett
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Plant Ecology ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Ecosystem Studies ◽  
Cross Site

The Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program has made me a more effective scientist because I have had to learn about disciplines that are very distant from my own, and it has helped me see the relevance of my own interests in the context of rapidly changing systems in which human agency is inescapable. Being a part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) site has extended my educational activities to primary and secondary school situations. It has been both an eye opener and personally very rewarding to interact in city classrooms and after-school programs. I have found myself in demand as a public speaker as a result of serving as leader of one of the two urban LTER programs. My communication skills and strategies have been greatly improved as a result. Collaboration has taught me to listen more effectively and to emphasize dialogue rather than exposition. Multidisciplinary urban field trips are powerful tools for joint research and for communication with people in the community. My role in the LTER network has been as principal investigator of the BES site from its inception in 1997. Before involvement in the LTER program, I conducted urban ecological research in metropolitan New York. My interests beyond urban studies include vegetation dynamics, natural disturbance, and landscape ecology. At the time that my involvement in the LTER program began, I became part of a multidisciplinary and international team conducting a 10-year study of the linkages between rivers and upland savannas in Kruger National Park, South Africa. In the LTER network, I have been a member of the committee on scientific initiatives and the Science Council. I have also contributed to cross-site integration through workshops at the LTER network’s triennial All Scientists Meetings and to cross-site activities such as comparison of disturbance across the network (Peters et al. 2011). I hold a BS and a PhD in botany, specializing in plant ecology. I am currently Distinguished Senior Scientist at the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, a flexible position that has allowed me to explore the cross-disciplinary and synthetic approaches required to lead an urban LTER program.

Bridging Community and Ecosystem Ecology at the Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research Site via Collaborations

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Gough
Keyword(s):  
The Arctic ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Major Life Events ◽  
Major Life ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
Louisiana State University ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Cross Site

My research in the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program helped to shape me into the ecologist that I am, working at the interface between communities and ecosystems on a variety of questions. As a university educator and public speaker, I incorporate examples of LTER site-based empirical and theoretical research, as well as cross-site meta-analyses in my teaching and presentations. My awareness of long-term research, in particular the response of North American ecosystems to global change, is heightened by my interactions within the LTER network. Working in the LTER program has provided me with opportunities for collaborations both within the Arctic site and across the network. The LTER program has thus inadvertently provided the framework for all of my current and recently funded research projects. These collaborations assisted in sustaining me through major life events, particularly having children, by helping me maintain my research productivity when my family required more of my time and attention. Currently, I am a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Texas at Arlington. I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in botany and ecology, and I also supervise MS and PhD students working in the tundra at the Arctic (ARC) LTER site and locally on urban ecology questions. I earned my PhD in plant biology from Louisiana State University and have been affiliated with ARC site since 1996, when I was hired as a postdoctoral scientist by Gus Shaver on a related grant. Since 1999, when I started my first faculty position, I have been an independently funded researcher affiliated with the ARC site, and for the past few years I have served as a member of the ARC Executive Committee. My research at ARC site is at the interface between the community and the ecosystem. My contributions to site-specific understanding have focused on the factors (abiotic and biotic) that control tundra plant species diversity, including the role of consumer species (Figure 7.1). In addition, I have been involved in a cross-site working group in the LTER network (now called PDTNet: Productivity-Diversity-Traits Network) since 1996.

scholarly journals Graduate students navigating social-ecological research: insights from the Long-Term Ecological Research Network

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydne Record ◽  
Paige F. B. Ferguson ◽  
Elise Benveniste ◽  
Rose A. Graves ◽  
Vera W. Pfeiffer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research

A Holistic View of an an Arid Ecosystem: A Synthesis of Research and Its Applications

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon T. Bestelmeyer ◽  
Joel R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Research Program ◽  
Ecosystem Processes ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Arid Ecosystems ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Arid Ecosystem ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Jornada Basin

A primary objective of the Jornada Basin research program has been to provide a broad view of arid land ecology. Architects of the program, more recently scientists with the Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, felt that existing ecological data sets were usually of too short a duration and represented too few ecosystem components to provide a foundation for predicting dynamics in response to disturbances (NSF 1979). This recognition gave rise to the approach of using long-term and multidisciplinary research at particular places to advance a holistic and broad-scale but also mechanistic view of ecological dynamics. Such a view is essential to applying ecological research to natural resources management (Golley 1993; Li 2000). In this synthesis chapter we ask: What has this approach taught us about the structure and function of an arid ecosystem? How should this knowledge change the way we manage arid ecosystems? What gaps in our knowledge still exist and why? The Jornada Basin LTER was established in 1981 with the primary aim of using ecological science to understand the progressive loss of semiarid grasslands and their replacement with shrublands. This motivation echoed that which initiated the Jornada Experimental Range (JER) 69 years earlier. The combined, century-long body of research offers a unique perspective on several core ideas in ecology, including the existence of equilibria in ecosystems, the role of scale, landscape heterogeneity and historic events in ecosystem processes and trajectories, and the linkage between ecosystem processes and biodiversity. From this perspective, we examine key assumptions of this research tradition, including the value of the ecosystem concept and the ability to extrapolate site-based conclusions across a biome. The Jornada Basin research program is also uncommon in its close ties to long-term, management-oriented research. The research questions first asked by the U.S. Forest Service and later by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), such as how to manage livestock operations, frame much of the Jornada Basin research. This allows us to consider the contributions of this research and synthesis toward answering management questions.

Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. K. Lauenroth ◽  
I. C. Burke
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Shortgrass Steppe ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Department Of Agriculture ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Grassland Biome ◽  
And Function ◽  
Agricultural Research Service ◽  
Insight Into

Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe: A Long-Term Perspective summarizes and synthesizes more than sixty years of research that has been conducted throughout the shortgrass region in North America. The shortgrass steppe was an important focus of the International Biological Program's Grassland Biome project, which ran from the late 1960s until the mid-1970s. The work conducted by the Grassland Biome project was preceded by almost forty years of research by U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers-primarily from the Agricultural Research Service-and was followed by the Shortgrass Steppe Long-Term Ecological Research project. This volume is an enormously rich source of data and insight into the structure and function of a semiarid grassland.

Kelp Forests, Coral Reefs, and the Long-Term Ecological Research Program: Synergies and Impacts on a Scientific Career

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally J. Holbrook
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Marine Biology ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Kelp Forests ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Santa Barbara ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Disciplinary Background

Involvement with the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program has enabled me to ask novel and exciting science questions at larger spatial and longer temporal scales than I could have otherwise. It has enhanced my ability to engage in interdisciplinary collaborative research. The LTER program has afforded my graduate students a variety of opportunities that have enhanced their training and experiences as early career scientists. My undergraduate students learn about LTER research findings in my classes and have the opportunity to work as research assistants in the field and the laboratory. My experiences with LTER- funded research have made me aware of the importance of community and K–12 outreach, and it has provided me opportunities to plan such activities. Engaging in the LTER program has provided me with a myriad of opportunities to collaborate with other sites and groups to address network-level science questions. My collaborators include investigators from within the LTER network, as well as international scientists. My experience in the LTER network began in 2000, when the Santa Barbara Coastal (SBC) LTER project was established, and expanded in 2004 with the founding of the Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER site. I have been a co–principal investigator at both of these sites since their inception. Because I am a marine community ecologist, my research interests and those of my graduate students are closely aligned with the goals and activities of both sites. My LTER network-level experiences include a 3-year term on the LTER Executive Board, participation in several LTER All Scientists Meetings, and a network-sponsored working group on abrupt state shifts. Currently, I am a professor of ecology in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California (UC) Santa Barbara. My disciplinary background is population and community ecology, and prior to my involvement with the LTER program, my research and that of my students focused mainly on questions related to population dynamics and species interactions.

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