Ecological Complexity and Ecosystem Services Opportunities for USChina Collaboration

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Ecological Complexityand Ecosystem
ServicesOpportunities for US-China Collaboration
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How Did We Get Here?A complex history

• 1998 Rita Colwell develops concept of
  biocomplexity as an NSF area for development.
• October 1998 Rita Colwell visits China,
  discusses NSF initiatives on biocomplexity
  (http//www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/forum/colwell/rc81012.h
  tm)

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From Dr. Colwells Address12 October 1998,
Chinese Academy of Sciences

• understanding biocomplexity speaks to a deeper
  concept. It is not enough to explore and
  chronicle and record the enormous diversity of
  the world's ecosystems. We must do that. But we
  must also reach beyond, to discover the complex
  chemical, biological, and social interactions
  that comprise our planet's systems. From these
  subtle but very sophisticated interrelationships,
  we can pull out the fundamental principles of
  sustainability. Our survival as a human species
  and the ecological survival of the entire planet
  depend on our ability to achieve what is a truly
  interdisciplinary task.
• Your colleagues and counterparts in America look
  forward to an era of joint scientific journeys
  with you. In the coming century, partnering in
  scientific and technical endeavors will become
  even more central, not only to progress of
  science but also to the promotion of peace.

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How Did We Get Here?A complex history

• 1998 Rita Colwell develops concept of
  biocomplexity as an NSF area for development.
• October 1998 Rita Colwell visits China,
  discusses NSF initiatives on biocomplexity
  (http//www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/forum/colwell/rc81012.h
  tm)
• Spring 2001 P. Firth contacts Elser
• August 2001 Elser submits proposal approved
  September 2001
• September 11 2001
• Spring 2002 Elser / Phillips / Chang / Firth
  renew effort.
• Fall 2002 Invitation process begins.
• December 2002 Chinese delegation, incl. Zhibin
  ZHANG, visits Washington DC, San Diego, and Tempe
  to meet with Firth, Chang, Elser, Phillips.

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(No Transcript)
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How Did We Get Here?A complex history

• 1998 Rita Colwell develops concept of
  biocomplexity as an NSF area for development.
• October 1998 Rita Colwell visits China,
  discusses NSF initiatives on biocomplexity
  (http//www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/forum/colwell/rc81012.h
  tm)
• Spring 2001 P. Firth contacts Elser
• August 2001 Elser submits proposal approved
  September 2001
• September 11 2001
• Spring 2002 Elser / Phillips / Chang / Firth
  renew effort.
• Fall 2002 Invitation process begins.
• December 2002 Chinese delegation, incl. Zhibin
  ZHANG, visits Washington DC, San Diego, and Tempe
  to meet with Firth, Chang, Elser, Phillips.
• Spring 2003 Team finalized itinerary
  finalized.
• March 2003 US - Iraq war begins.
• April 2003 SARS outbreak Tempe workshop China
  visit postponed.

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A Challenge to the Worlds ScientistsKofi
Annan, 7 March 2003, Science 299 1485.

• There are deep similarities between the ethos of
  science and the project of international
  organization. Both are engaged in a struggle
  against forces of unreason and strive to give
  expression to universal truths for the United
  Nations, these include the dignity and worth of
  the human person and the understanding that even
  though the world is divided by many particulars,
  we are united in a single human community.

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Primary ThemesDeveloped in Tempe (April 2003)

• Concepts and Definitions
• Scaling of Ecocomplexity and Ecosystem Services
• Interface of the Social and Natural
• Broader Impacts

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Theme 1 Definitions and Concepts in
Biocomplexity and Ecosystem Services
Many scientists seek to understand, predict, and
manage biological responses to accelerating
anthropogenic change. However, the highly
complex behaviors of Earths biological systems
make achieving these goals difficult
uncertainty and unpredictability are common and
events reverberate across space and time, making
surprises inevitable (Holling 1999). No one
discipline is likely to be able to successfully
tackle this complexity alone, making it
imperative that we develop a different approach
to science than has previously been widely
possible. To begin to meet this challenge with
our Chinese colleagues, in this theme we will
articulate operational working definitions of
biocomplexity, ecosystem services, resilience,
and other key concepts.
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Theme 2 Scaling of Biocomplexity and Ecosystem
Services
Understanding scaling and biocomplexity will be
mutually evolving endeavors. Too often the data
sets available to ecologists, and the experiments
conducted by ecologists, occur over small areas
(e.g., plots) and short times scales (e.g., the
field season). Increasingly, pressing ecological
problems ecologists are asked to remedy occur
over broad areas, across the boundaries of
multiple ecosystems, and often over long time
scales. One major focus of scaling is thus, the
"scaling up" of small, localized data sets to
predict patterns and processes over broader
spatial extents and longer time frames. In this
theme we will discuss key ways in which scale of
observation (in space and time) affects our
understanding of complexity and ecosystem
services. We will also discuss different means
by which such scaling can be studied.
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Theme 3 Interface of the Social and the Natural
The integration of the study of social and
natural systems will be a critical thematic
component of the proposed project. Because
anthropogenic influence is ubiquitous throughout
the globe, human and natural systems are by
necessity inextricably linked. To address these
issues, true interdisciplinary research of the
future will need to recognize that complex
feedbacks are the rule rather than the exception.
Successful studies will require quantifying the
ecological patterns and processes responsible for
the provision of services, the appropriate scales
of analysis, how human management will change a
service, and the financial value of the service.
In this theme, we will illuminate methods of
valuation used in China and the US, identify
appropriate case studies where alternative
management options would affect services
differently, and build Sino-American
collaboration in this area.
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• Theme 4 Broader Impacts of US-China Exchange on
  Ecocomplexity and Ecosystem Services.
• The objectives and products of our US-China
  exchange should be of considerable interest to
  managers, public officials, students, and the
  general public. In Theme 4 we will seek to
  identify the ways to achieve broader impacts from
  our exchange. Preliminary ideas included
• - connection to NSF Summer Institute in China
  program
• - interactions with natural resource managers and
  NGO personnel
• - development of project web page, including
  areas for general public and students
• - communication to the broad range of natural and
  social scientists about issues and opportunities
  involved in US-China exchange (forum at summer
  2004 ESA meeting in Portland)

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How Did We Get Here?A complex history

• 1998 Rita Colwell develops concept of
  biocomplexity as an NSF area for development.
• October 1998 Rita Colwell visits China,
  discusses NSF initiatives on biocomplexity
  (http//www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/forum/colwell/rc81012.h
  tm)
• Spring 2001 P. Firth contacts Elser
• August 2001 Elser submits proposal approved
  September 2001
• September 11 2001
• Spring 2002 Elser / Phillips / Chang / Firth
  renew effort.
• Fall 2002 Invitation process begins.
• December 2002 Chinese delegation, incl. Zhibin
  ZHANG, visits Washington DC, San Diego, and Tempe
  to meet with Firth, Chang, Elser, Phillips.
• Spring 2003 Team finalized itinerary
  finalized.
• March 2003 US - Iraq war begins.
• April 2003 SARS outbreak Tempe workshop China
  visit postponed.
• January 2004 Videoteleconference
• May 2004 US team visits China!

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Matthew Wilson University of Vermont Ecological
economics
Jim Elser Arizona State University Limnology,
ecological stoichiometry
Jingle Wu Arizona State University Theoretical
landscape ecology, urban ecology
Andy Phillips Zoological Society of San
Diego Herpetology, conservation biology
Valerie Eviner Institute of Ecosystem
Studies Soil ecology, biogeochemistry, community
ecology
Kathyrn Cottingham Dartmouth College Limnology,
disease ecology (Vibrio)
Sarah Gergel University of British
Columbia Landscape ecology, river-floodplain inter
actions
David Lodge University of Notre Dame Ecology of
invasive species
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Armand Kuris UC-Santa Barbara Ecology and
evolution of disease parasitism
Austin Troy University of Vermont Natural
resource economics
Peter Turchin University of Connecticut Theoretica
l population ecology, historical dynamics of
humans