Each spring a community of LTER scientists and educators gathers in Washington to share with federal agency peers and policy makers the status and future of long-term ecological research through a mini-symposium of exciting presentations about research and synthesis activities.
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CE researcher Tiffany Troxler-Gann presenting at the 6th annual LTER Mini-Symposium at NSF, Washington, DC. Photo: Michelle Kelleher |
The 6th Annual LTER Mini-Symposium was held at the National Science Foundation
(NSF) in Arlington, VA, on March 9, 2006. In only its sixth year, the LTER
Mini-Symposium in DC has come to serve as an important forum for awareness,
discussion, and partnership forging among LTER scientists and educators and
interested peers and policy makers. This year’s focal topic, “Building
on the Legacy of LTER Research: Ecology for the Future” attracted close
to 100 people.
As in previous years, attendees came from all over the nation’s capital
and beyond, including the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS),
Ecological Society of America (ESA), National Ecological Observatory Network
(NEON), various non-governmental organizations, and several academic institutions.
Federal representatives came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Agriculture (USDA),
including the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and USDA Cooperative
State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), U.S. Geological
Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Global Change
Research Program (USGCRP), as well as program officers, senior management,
and staff from across the NSF. A number of LTER Principal Investigators, scientists,
and educators also showed up to support the symposium.
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Participants listen attentively to presentations during the 6th annual
LTER Mini-Symposium. Photo: Michelle Kelleher |
This year’s featured
speakers were: Alan Knapp (Colorado State University/KNZ), who gave a presentation
on “Global change and change in paradigm”;
John Briggs (Arizona State University/KNZ/CAP) on “Combining archeology
and ecology in the Sonoran desert and desert grasslands”; Scott Pearson
(Mars Hill College/CWT) on “Land use history and patterns of biodiversity
in Southern Appalachian forests”; Michelle Mack (University of Florida/BNZ)
on “Global change and arctic systems”; Deb Peters (USDA-ARS/JRN)
on “Human impacts and land cover change in drylands”; Tiffany
Troxler-Gann (Florida International University/FCE) on “Ecosystem responses
to hydrologic change in Everglades tree islands: Findings and future directions”;
and Scott Collins (University of New Mexico/SEV, on “LTER vision for
the future: Synthesis across time, over space and among disciplines.”
The purpose of the annual mini-symposia is to showcase to federal agency
officials and policy makers in Washington the relevance and broader impacts
of the scientific research undertaken by the LTER network. Each year the LTER
coordinating committee solicits nominations for topics and speakers with the
following year’s
topic announced each fall. To add yourself or someone else to the invitation
announcement list, please send name, organization, and email address to Henry
Gholz at hgholz@nsf.gov.
Michelle Kelleher, BIO/DEB Science Assistant, NSF
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