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COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AT MULTIPLE SCALES: A VISION FOR CONTINENTAL-SCALE BIOLOGY¹

Members

JIANGUO LIU (Chair), Michigan State University

JEANNINE CAVENDER-BARES, University of Minnesota, Harvard University

BALA CHAUDHARY, Dartmouth College

BRIAN J. ENQUIST, University of Arizona; Santa Fe Institute

JACK A. GILBERT, University of California, San Diego

N. LOUISE GLASS, University of California, Berkeley

SCOTT GOETZ, Northern Arizona University

STEPHANIE E. HAMPTON, Carnegie Institution for Science

INÉS IBÁÑEZ, University of Michigan

CHELCY F. MINIAT, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service

SHAHID NAEEM, Columbia University

PHOEBE L. ZARNETSKE, Michigan State University

Staff

CLIFFORD S. DUKE, Study Director

NATALIE ARMSTRONG, Program Officer

KAVITA BERGER, Director, Board on Life Sciences

LAYLA GARYK, Senior Program Assistant

DARLENE GROS, Senior Program Assistant

KATHERINE R. KANE, Senior Program Assistant

THOMASINA LYLES, Senior Program Assistant

TRISHA TUCHOLSKI, Program Officer

SABINA VADNAIS, Associate Program Officer

MAGGIE WALSER, Associate Executive Director

Sponsor

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY

Members

FRANK W. DAVIS (Chair), University of California, Santa Barbara

ANN M. BARTUSKA, U.S. Department of Agriculture (until August 2024)

DANA BOYD BARR, Emory University

WEIHSUEH A. CHIU, Texas A&M University

FRANCESCA DOMINICI, Harvard University

MAHMUD FAROOQUE, Arizona State University

MARIE C. FORTIN, Merck

MARIE L. MIRANDA, University of Illinois, Chicago

MELISSA J. PERRY, George Mason University

JOSHUA TEWKSBURY, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (until August 2024)

SACOBY M. WILSON, University of Maryland

TRACEY J. WOODRUFF, University of California, San Francisco

Staff

CLIFFORD S. DUKE, Board Director

NATALIE ARMSTRONG, Program Officer

LESLIE BEAUCHAMP, Senior Program Assistant

ANTHONY DEPINTO, Associate Program Officer

KATHRYN GUYTON, Senior Program Officer

KATHERINE R. KANE, Senior Program Assistant (until March 2024)

LAURA LLANOS, Finance Business Partner

THOMASINA LYLES, Senior Program Assistant

RAYMOND WASSEL, Scholar (until June 2024)

BOARD ON LIFE SCIENCES

Members

ANN M. ARVIN (Chair), Stanford University

DENISE N. BAKEN, Shield Analysis Technology, LLC

TANYA Y. BERGER-WOLF, Ohio State University

VALERIE H. BONHAM, Kennedy Krieger Institute

PATRICK M. BOYLE, Ginkgo Bioworks

DOMINIQUE BROSSARD, University of Wisconsin–Madison

MAURO COSTA-MATTIOLI, Altos Labs; Baylor College of Medicine

GERALD L. EPSTEIN, Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security

INDIA G. HOOK-BARNARD, Engineering Biology Research Consortium

BERONDA MONTGOMERY, Grinnell College

LOUIS J. MUGLIA, Burroughs Wellcome Fund

ROBERT NEWMAN, AMP Health

LUCILA OHNO-MACHADO, Yale University

SUDIP S. PARIKH, American Association for the Advancement of Science

NATHAN D. PRICE, Thorne HealthTech

SUSAN R. SINGER, St. Olaf College

DAVID R. WALT, Harvard Medical School

PHYLLIS M. WISE, Colorado Longitudinal Study

Staff

KAVITA BERGER, Board Director

ANDREW BREMER, Program Officer

JESSICA DE MOUY, Research Associate

CYNTHIA GETNER, Finance Business Partner

LAYLA GARYK, Senior Program Assistant

NIA D. JOHNSON, Senior Program Officer

LYLY LUHACHACK, Program Officer

DASIA McKOY, Senior Program Assistant

CHRISTL SAUNDERS, Program Coordinator

AUDREY THEVENON, Senior Program Officer

TRISHA TUCHOLSKI, Program Officer

SABINA VADNAIS, Associate Program Officer

NAM VU, Senior Program Assistant

Reviewers

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by KATHY WEATHERS, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, and MARY POWER (NAS), University of California, Berkeley. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

Acknowledgments

Many people were essential in helping the committee accomplish its charge. The committee gratefully acknowledges the participants at its information-gathering sessions, who provided insights and viewpoints pertinent to the committee’s task (see Appendix B). We thank Todd Anderson, Katharina Dittmar, Anika Dzierlenga, Thomas Elmqvist, Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh, Noah Fierer, Janet Franklin, Scott Hagerthey, Simon Levin, Sydne Record, David Schimel, Woody Turner, Michael Wilson, and Marten Winter for their contributions at the committee’s first information-gathering session. We thank Jennifer Balch, Matthew Barnes, Tanya Berger-Wolf, Jessica Ernakovich, Alan Hastings, James Heffernan, Matthew Jones, Christopher Kempes, Elena Litchman, Paula Mabee, Osvaldo Sala, Lisette de Senerpont Domi, Margaret Torn, Susan Trumbore, and Yaxing Wei for their contributions at the committee’s second information-gathering session. Presenters at the committee’s third information-gathering session were John Bargar, Sara Bombaci, Gillian Bowser, Rachel Buxton, Stephanie Russo Carroll, Theresa Crimmins, Cristina Eisenberg, Andrew Farnsworth, Nico Franz, Sarah Huebner, Danielle Ignace, Christopher Lepczyk, John Matsui, Bonnie McGill, Patrick Meyfroidt, Milton Newberry III, Brook Nunn, Daniel Park, Jesús Pinto-Ledezma, Charuleka Varadharajan, Christine Wilkinson, and Elise Zipkin. We thank Sara Goeking for input on the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis network and Gavin Jones for input on acoustic recording units.

In addition, we are grateful to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for sponsoring the study, and to the NSF staff, Matt Kane and Erwin Gianchandani, for their presentations to the committee.

The committee is grateful to the staff of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine who contributed to producing this report, especially the

Contents

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

SUMMARY

1 INTRODUCTION

Paving the Way for a Continental-Scale Biology

Committee’s Approach to the Statement of Task

References

2 THEMES FOR A CONTINENTAL-SCALE BIOLOGY

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function

Resilience and Vulnerability

Connectivity

Sustainability of Ecosystem Services

Examples of Interworking of the Four Themes

References

3 THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS FOR A CONTINENTAL-SCALE BIOLOGY

Overview and Problem Statement

Challenges in Developing CSB Theories

Requirements of CSB Theories

Challenges in Connecting Research Across Scales

Conclusions on Developing Theory to Connect Research Across Scales

References

4 RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ENABLES CONTINENTAL-SCALE BIOLOGY

Introduction

Tools

Networks

Centers of Synthesis

Attributes of Successful Tools and Networks and Challenges

Recommendation and Conclusion

References

5 TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING TO ENABLE CONTINENTAL-SCALE BIOLOGY

Data Literacy Training and Capacity Building

Interdisciplinary Team Science Training

Challenges That Limit Effective Research Across Scales and Training Approaches to Overcome Them

Evidence-Based Methods to Promote Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Continental-Scale Biology

A Path Forward for Training and Capacity Building in Continental Biology

References

6 OVERARCHING RECOMMENDATIONS AND VISION

Overarching Recommendations

Vision

References

APPENDIXES

A COMMITTEE MEMBER BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

B PUBLIC MEETING AGENDAS

Boxes, Figures, and Tables

BOXES

1-1 Related NSF Initiatives

1-2 Characteristics That Define Continental-Scale Biology

2-1 Cataloging Earth’s Microbial Biodiversity Across Multiple Habitats

2-2 Biodiversity in Coral’s Slimy Biofilms as an Indicator of Reef Resilience

2-3 Effects of Local, Landscape, and Regional Drivers of Vulnerability to Plant Invasions

2-4 A Metacoupling Framework to Help Optimize Salmonid Research, Management, and Policymaking

2-5 Bridging Spatial Scales: How the Ecosystem Service of Slope Stability Changes with Rainfall Amounts and Forest Species Composition

2-6 Effect of Tree Fecundity on the Long-Term Maintenance of Ecosystem Services Provided by Forested Areas

3-1 Role of Theory in the Core Themes of CSB

3-2 Developing, Testing, and Advancing Theory

4-1 Connecting the Tools and Networks that Enable CSB to its Core Themes

4-2 Application of Omics Technologies That Can Be Applied to CSB

4-3 Application of Remote Sensing to Collect Vegetation Spectral and Structural Data Relevant to CSB

4-4 The Nutrient Network

5-1 Connecting Core Themes to Training and Capacity-Building Efforts Used in Research Across Scales

5-2 Examples of Training and Capacity-Building Efforts Used to Successfully Connect Research Across Scales

FIGURES

S-1 CSB provides a framework for addressing environmental and societal challenges that cut across biological organizational scales from molecule to cells and tissues, organisms to populations and communities, ecosystems to the biome to the biosphere

S-2 Relationships among the four themes

1-1 Biological organizational scales of continental-scale biology

2-1 Relationships among the four themes

2-2-1 Diverse microbial communities make up coral reef biofilms

2-4-1 A metacoupling framework provides a tool for studying the interactions between humans and nature

2-2 Elements of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan

2-3 Research on pandas, people, and policies across scales from DNA to planet Earth

3-1-1 Near-term ecological forecasting cycle

3-2 Hypothetical biodiversity curves illustrating different scenarios and impacts on biodiversity targets

4-1a Relationships among tools, networks, and synthesis centers to biological processes in the context of biological knowledge

4-1b Temporal and spatial scales of biological and physical processes and patterns in the context of multiscale biology

4-2 National Ecological Observatory Network

4-3-1 Image of airborne platform using full-range spectroscopy (400–2,500 nm) and remotely sensed lidar

4-4-1 Nutrient Network site locations

5-1 Numerous current and former training programs exist to support a scientific workforce

TABLES

4-1 Scientific Observational and Experimental Networks

Acronyms and Abbreviations