April 2019
LTER Network News is a forum for sharing news and activities from across the LTER Network. This is our water cooler. If you have personnel changes, new grants, cross-Network activities that might interest your LTER colleagues, please send them along to weiss@nceas.lternet.edu.
DECADAL REVIEW PROCESS
The year 2020 is the 40th anniversary of the LTER Program, which was launched with NSF’s funding of 6 LTER sites in 1980. Every 10 years throughout the life of the program, NSF has commissioned a review process, typically inviting outside reviewers to give feedback on the strengths of the program and opportunities for improvement or expanded influence. The Science Council and the Network Communications Office are hard at work on a self study to provide reviewers with a clear picture of the Network’s status and impact. Review activities will continue through mid-2020.
SAVE THE DATES
2019 LTER Science Council Meeting
The 2019 LTER Science Council Meeting will be May 13-16, hosted by the Luquillo LTER Site. Participants include Lead Principal investigators, the LTER Executive Board, and the Decadal Self-Study Committee. For more information, visit the News/Events page on the LTER Network website.
2019 International LTER Open Science Meeting
The second Open Science Meeting of the International LTER Network will be September 2-6, 2019 in Leipzig Germany. This meeting is held only every three years and offers a great opportunity to build connections and develop project ideas with international colleagues.
2019 Ecological Society of America (ESA) Meeting
In 2019, ESA Meets jointly with the U.S. Society for Ecological Economics, in Louisville Kentucky. Meeting dates are August 11-16 (late breaking poster submissions are still open until May 2) and the meeting theme is “Bridging Communities & Ecosystems: Inclusion as an Ecological Imperative.” Early Bird registration is available until June 27.
2019 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Meeting
The 2019 AGU Meeting is back in San Francisco, December 9-13. It’s too late to submit a session or workshop, but abstract submission will be open in the summer. The theme is “Discover Science at the Speed of Life.”
As a reminder — when submitting meeting abstracts, please try to include LTER or “Long Term Ecological Research” in your title, abstract, or affiliation, so that we can find and share your work.
RECENT PRESS
From the National Science Foundation
- Want to increase local employment? Conserve the land, scientists say
- Research helps farmers pinpoint high-and low-yield fields, leads to better use of fertilizer
Other Media
- Researchers blown away by hurricane simulation | Phys
- Alpine tundra releases long-frozen CO2 | CU Boulder Today
- Study suggests trees are crucial to the future of our cities | EurekAlert
- Sea level rise could make plants bigger—then it may kill them | Phys
- Land conservation helps local economies grow | Science Daily
- Study gives new insight into how climate change is transforming Virginia’s barrier islands | Phys
- Solving the mystery of fertilizer loss from Midwest cropland | MSU Today
- Melting permafrost at high altitudes releases more CO2 than it captures | Earth.com
- Overlooked jellyfish play big role in Gulf of Alaska | Daily News-Miner
- Taking the long view: NatSci graduate students win prestigious fellowship | Michigan State University
PAPERS OF INTEREST
- Demonstrating the value of cross-ecosystem syntheses and comparisons in animal movement and acoustic telemetry research
- Variability and change in the west Antarctic Peninsula marine system: Research priorities and opportunities
- Building a hydrologic foundation for tropical watershed management
- Evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra
- The Ethics of Eliminating Harmful Species: The Case of the Tsetse Fly
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The LTER NCO is excited to release the long anticipated LTER Road Trip Story Map in honor of Earth Day! Follow the journey of Erika Zambello, a blogger and photographer, who visited the majority of our LTER sites from 2016-2018 and documented her adventures. We will plan to add stories for all LTER sites in the coming year, so stay tuned if your site isn’t yet on the map!
Starting this month, NCEAS and the US Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network are tag-teaming on a Twitter campaign, #WhyISynthesize, to highlight the value of a synthesis approach to solving big-picture environmental and ecological questions. Learn more and/or join the conversation on Twitter.
In a major team effort, sites and the Network Communications Office have recently brought the LTER Network bibliography back up-to-date. Find a feed of the most recent papers published across the network on the web site, under research> publications> bibliography or visit our Zotero LTER group library to find the full 20K-plus publications of the last 39 years. Look for a more complete integration coming to the network web site in the near future.
AROUND THE NETWORK
Jonathan Thompson is stepping into the role of Lead PI for Harvard Forest LTER. Retiring Lead PI David Foster will continue to contribute his insight and expertise on the decadal review committee and others, we hope.
Congratulations to the 2019 Ecological Society of America fellows, including Pamela Templer of Harvard Forest LTER and Elizabeth Borer of Cedar Creek LTER.
Congratulations to Jill Haukos, Konza Prairie Biological Station’s Director of Education, for receiving the Award for Excellence in Conservation and Environmental Education Kansas Association of Conservation, and to Marilyn Sigman, Education Specialist with the Northern Gulf of Alaska LTER, for receiving an Alaska Ocean Leadership Award for her marine science outreach.
John Kominoski of Florida Coastal Everglades LTER was recently featured on a Living on Earth podcast segment where he describes the unique Everglades National Park ecosystem. Give it a listen!
Bill Fraser of Palmer LTER was interviewed by One Planet about how climate change is affecting Antarctic Penguins. Check out the podcast and related videos.
Data Nuggets hosted a K-12 Partnership Spring Workshop at Kellogg Biological Station this month to orient new users to the data nuggets website and resources. You can find all the materials presented at the session on their website.
The Luquillo LTER/CZO Schoolyard Data Jam program is gearing up for their Annual Symposium on May 17, 2019. Students use ecological data collected at the El Yunque National Forest by LTER/CZO/USGS to create a project that presents the data in a non-traditional way.
COMMITTEES AND INTEREST GROUPS
Several LTER committees and interest groups are experiencing a surge of activity in the wake of the LTER All Scientists’ Meeting. Participation is entirely voluntary, but if you are interested in the following issues and activities, please reach out to the listed contact people for more information:
Cross-site REU proposal team: A group of investigators and REU coordinators are looking at developing a proposal for a cross-site REU program. Sam Norlin (norlin@nceas.ucsb.edu) is coordinating interest
Diversity Committee: Interested in helping develop a set of resources and best practices to apply across the Network? Alan Berkowitz (berkowitza@caryinstitute.org) co-chairs this committee.
Communications Committee: Clarisse Hart (hart3@fas.harvard.edu) and Julie Doll (jedoll@msu.edu) chair this committee that is building a community of practice among LTER communicators and investigators.
JOBS AND GRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES
- Ph.D. Assistantship in Arctic Estuarine Ecology
- PhD assistantship in Everglades Biogeochemistry
- Postdoc in Estuarine Biogeochechemistry
- Stream research technician (University of Vermont/Arctic LTER)
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
- NSF Coastlines and People Program: Through CoPe, NSF is interested in supporting projects to build capacity and explore research focused on understanding the impacts of coastal environmental variability and natural hazards on populated coastal regions. Concept papers for the Research Coordination Network (RCN), Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER), and conference opportunities are due by May 31, 2019. Those seeking to support interns should contact the COPE program Officers as described in the letter.
- Antarctic Artists and Writers Program (AAW): The Antarctic Artists and Writers Program was established to facilitate writing and artistic projects designed to increase the public’s understanding and appreciation of the Antarctic and human endeavors on the southernmost continent. Deadline: July 1, 2019, for projects beginning July 1, 2020 or later.
- Signals in the Soil (SitS): This program encourage convergent research that transforms existing capabilities in understanding dynamic, near-surface soil processes through advances in sensor systems and modeling. Full proposal target date: May 15, 2019.
- Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program. This solicitation features two mechanisms for support of student research: REU Sites and REU Supplements to existing projects. Applications for REU sites (other than those in Antarctica) are due August 28, 2019. REU Supplement requests are handled by the NSF program officer for the underlying research grant, and investigators should contact that program officer before submitting the request.
- ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions: The ADVANCE program seeks to develop systemic approaches to increase the participation and advancement of women in academic STEM careers. Letter of Intent (required): May 15, 2019; full proposal: May 22 – June 3, 2019
LTER ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Like the LTER Facebook page or join private Facebook groups to participate in focused conversations: Education; Graduate Students; Communications and Outreach. Follow LTER on Twitter for the most current updates. And now you can find behind-the-scenes pics and stories from across the network on our new LTER community-led Instagram page!
