Understanding Organisms Using Ecological Observatory Networks

Area of Science:

• Ecological science
• Organismal biology
• Environmental monitoring

Background:

• Human activities are altering global ecosystems, impacting biodiversity, agriculture, and disease dynamics.
• Observatory networks, integrating sensors, field research, and extensive databases, are increasingly used to study ecological phenomena across scales.
• Existing networks like the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) have primarily served population, community, and ecosystem ecology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the underutilized potential of ecological observatory networks for organismal biology.
• To demonstrate how NEON can advance the study of individual organismal variation.
• To explore the application of observatory networks in understanding the drivers and outcomes of organismal diversity.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing data and infrastructure from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) as a case study.
• Examining the opportunities NEON presents for organismal biologists.
• Analyzing how NEON data can inform studies on morphological, behavioral, molecular, and physiological variation.

Main Results:

• Ecological observatory networks provide a unique resource for organismal biologists.
• NEON facilitates the study of critical biological processes including range expansions, disease dynamics, and invasive species.
• These networks offer unprecedented opportunities to investigate the causes and consequences of variation within individual organisms.

Conclusions:

• Ecological observatory networks, exemplified by NEON, are powerful tools for advancing organismal biology.
• Leveraging these networks can significantly improve our understanding of biological variation and its ecological implications.
• The integration of organismal studies into observatory networks is essential for comprehensive ecological research.