aceas_intecol_2013
DESCRIPTION
Presentation to INTECOL 2013 conferenceTRANSCRIPT
Synthesis in ecology: the
role and relevance of
synthesis centres
Alison Specht, Siddeswara Guru, ShantalaBrisbane, Estelle Weber and Luke Houghton
This talk
• Background to the synthesis centre
• ACEAS
• Value
• Opportunities and challenges
This talk
• Background to the synthesis centre
• ACEAS
• Value
• Opportunities and challenges
Complexity of ecological
systems requires interdisciplinary
knowledge
Complexity of ecological
systems requires interdisciplinary
knowledge
More specialisation,
and less time to concentrate on broader issues
Complexity of ecological
systems requires interdisciplinary
knowledge
More specialisation,
and less time to concentrate on broader issues
We are drowning in information while starvingfor wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.
E.O. Wilson, (1998) Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. Island Press.
The Synthesis Centre
Learning from long practice in the tea room inter alia, where
the best conversations and exchange of ideas is to be had,
the synthesis centre was born.
The Synthesis Centre
Learning from long practice in the tea room inter alia, where
the best conversations and exchange of ideas is to be had,
the synthesis centre was born.
incubators for high-level, innovative thinking in ecosystem
science where the time and space is provided to:
The Synthesis Centre
Learning from long practice in the tea room inter alia, where
the best conversations and exchange of ideas is to be had,
the synthesis centre was born.
incubators for high-level, innovative thinking in ecosystem
science where the time and space is provided to:
•maximise collective intelligence, and
The Synthesis Centre
Learning from long practice in the tea room inter alia, where
the best conversations and exchange of ideas is to be had,
the synthesis centre was born.
incubators for high-level, innovative thinking in ecosystem
science where the time and space is provided to:
•maximise collective intelligence, and
•assist the analysis of disparate and complex data
NCEAS–a transformative model
Santa Barbara California, 1995
NCEAS–a transformative model
• Value-adding to existing data
Santa Barbara California, 1995
NCEAS–a transformative model
• Value-adding to existing data
• Fostering collaborative practice
Santa Barbara California, 1995
NCEAS–a transformative model
• Value-adding to existing data
• Fostering collaborative practice
• Increasing publications and citations
Santa Barbara California, 1995
NCEAS–a transformative model
• Value-adding to existing data
• Fostering collaborative practice
• Increasing publications and citations
Santa Barbara California, 1995
• Increased data availability
• Developed new techniques for data manipulation, storage and discovery (KNB, morpho, metacat)
Synthesis model uptake
NCEAS
Synthesis model uptake
NCEAS
CERN
CEES
Synthesis model uptake
NCEAS
CERN
CEES
NESCENTNIMBIOS
Synthesis model uptake
NCEAS
CERN
CEES
NESCENTNIMBIOS
Synthesis model uptake
NCEAS
CERN
CEES
NESCENTNIMBIOS
ACEAS
CESAB
Synthesis model uptake
NCEAS
CERN
CEES
NESCENTNIMBIOS
ACEAS
CESAB
TansleyEOSsDiV
Synthesis model uptake
NCEAS
ACEAS
CESAB
CERN
CEES
NESCENTNIMBIOS
TansleyEOSsDiV
The Synthesis Centre
This talk
• Background to the synthesis centre
• ACEAS
• Value
• Opportunities and challenges
This talk
• Background to the synthesis centre
• ACEAS
• Value
• Opportunities and challenges
ACEAS–a boundary organisation
A CUP HALF FULL? Thresholds and regime shifts in Australian freshwater ecosystems
Since May 2010, ACEAS has supported 36 topics of study
IMPROVING LONG-TERM PREDICTIONS OF CARBON AND NUTRIENT DYNAMICS IN AUSTRALIA'S AGROECOSYSTEMS
DETERMINING PRECISE ESTIMATES OF MODERN BIODIVERSITY EXTINCTION RATES
DATA SYSTEMS: semantics, data sharing, and documentation of analysis at the national and international scale
PYROGEOGRAPHY: Integrating and evaluating existing models of Australian fire regimes to predict climate change impacts
VAST LANDS AND VARIABLE DATA: systematic analyses to understand the patterns and processes of mammal decline
TRANSFORMATION OF AUSTRALIA’S VEGETATED LANDSCAPES
EXTINCTION RISKS OF FROGS UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE
INTEGRATED CATCHMENT-TO-COAST PLANNING: data, decision support, and governance
SPATIAL PRIORITIZATION FOR CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT: Integrating Vegetation Condition into Conservation Planning
AVIFAUNAL DISARRAY in eastern Australian forests and woodlands caused by a single despotic species
MOLECULES IN MODELS: The future role of genetic data in population viability analysis
AUSTRALIAN SEAGRASS HABITATS: condition and threats
CONSERVING KOALAS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: synthesizing the dynamics of Australia’s koala populations
LOCAL TO NATIONAL – the capacity for increasing the spatial scale of monitoring
INTEGRATION OF REMOTE SENSING AND LAND SURFACE MODELS for continental scale analysis carbon and water fluxes
This talk
• Background to the synthesis centre
• ACEAS
• Value
• Opportunities and challenges
This talk
• Background to the synthesis centre
• ACEAS
• Value
• Opportunities and challenges
Networks and community
Networks and community
Attitude to collaboration?
Networks and community
Attitude to collaboration?
Data sharing?
Products
Publications
Bradshaw C.J.A, Bowman D.M.J.S., Bond N.R., Murphy B.P., Moore A.D., Fordham D.A., Thackway R., Lawes M.J., McCallum H., Gregory S.D., Dalal R.C., Boer M.M., Lynch J.J., Bradstock R.A., Brook B.W., Henry B.K., Hunt L.P., Fisher D.O., Hunter D., Johnson C.N., Keith D.A., Lefroy E.C., Penman T.D., Meyer W.S., Thomson J.R., Thornton C.R., VanDerWal J., Williams
R.J., Keniger L., Specht A. (2013) Brave new green world – Consequences of a carbon economy for the conservation of Australian biodiversity. Biological Conservation 161: 71-90.
Products
Narrative
Fact sheets
Products
Synthesised data delivery
Products
This talk
• Background to the synthesis centre
• ACEAS
• Value
• Opportunities and challenges
This talk
• Background to the synthesis centre
• ACEAS
• Value
• Opportunities and challenges
Challenges
Lack of understanding of a synthesis centre
by policy-makers and general community
• not just a workshop
Challenges
Lack of understanding of a synthesis centre
by policy-makers and general community
• not just a workshop
Lack of understanding of ToR
• can’t just tweet conversations
Challenges
Lack of understanding of a synthesis centre
by policy-makers and general community
• not just a workshop
Lack of understanding of ToR
• can’t just tweet conversations
Lack of understanding of process
• scaffolding, support, time, engagement
Challenges
How best to measure and communicate
product and contribution
• Yes, papers, data delivery and citations, but
also
Challenges
How best to measure and communicate
product and contribution
• Yes, papers, data delivery and citations, but
also
• Community building
• Interdisciplinary bridges
• New skills and partnerships
Opportunities
Synthesis centres are really efficient ways of
getting research products ‘out there’
Opportunities
Synthesis centres are really efficient ways of
getting research products ‘out there’
Great ways to build community and capacity
Opportunities
Synthesis centres are really efficient ways of
getting research products ‘out there’
Great ways to build community and capacity
Great ways to change practice:
• Collaboration
• Data sharing
• Data management
Vision
the synthesis centre as a fundamental tool
for innovation in ecosystem science
engage with other synthesis centres and
tackle global questions
ACEAS and CESAB October 2013
