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11 AUGUST 2017 • VOL 357 ISSUE 6351 557SCIENCE sciencemag.org
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in global initiatives such as the International
LTER will be impaired. The LTER network
is part of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research
Network (TERN), funded by Australia’s
government (5). TERN’s inclusion of existing
LTER capability provided a template that
others in Europe, China, and South Africa
have followed. Discontinuing the LTER net-
work within TERN will therefore undermine
global cohesion in environmental research
and monitoring.
At a time when the United States
is increasing funding for its LTERs by
US$5.6M annually (6), and other nations
are rapidly building substantial LTER
capacity, terminating Australia’s LTER
network is totally out of step with interna-
tional trends and national imperatives. To
prevent the collapse of the LTER network
and prevent the resulting irreversible
impacts of breaking current time-series,
urgent and direct investment by the
Australian government is crucial.
David Lindenmayer and
68 additional authors
College of Medicine, Biology, and Environment, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. Email: david.lindenmayer@anu.edu.au
The full list of authors is available online.
REFERENCES
1. TERN, Quarterly Newsletter, Issue 16 (2017); www.ozflux.org.au/publications/newsletter/SuperSitesOzFluxCZONewsletter_Issue16_July2017.pdf.
2. D. B. Lindenmayer, E. Burns, N. Thurgate, A. Lowe, Eds., Biodiversity and Environmental Change: Monitoring, Challenges and Direction (CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia, 2014).
3. D. A. Keith, Austral. Ecol. 40, 337 (2015). 4. D. B. Lindenmayer et al., Austral. Ecol. 40, 213 (2015). 5. Long Term Ecological Research Network (www.ltern.org.au). 6. Nature 543, 469 (2017).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
www.sciencemag.org/content/357/6351/557/suppl/DC1Full author list
10.1126/science.aao4228
Save Australia’s
ecological research
Australia will lose its integrated long-term
ecological research (LTER) network at the
end of 2017 (1). The network comprises
more than 1100 long-term field plots within
temperate forests, rainforests, alpine grass-
lands, heathlands, deserts, and savannas,
with an unparalleled temporal depth in
biodiversity data. Its many achievements
includ e Australia’s first published trend
data for key ecosystems (2) and a suite of
IUCN ecosystem risk assessments (3).
Long-term ecological data are criti-
cal for quantifying environmental and
biodiversity change and identifying its
causes. LTER is especially important in
Australia because many of the country’s
ecosystems are subject to frequent climatic
extremes. Continuity of long-term research
and monitoring, and broader use of exist-
ing time series data by science and policy
communities, are crucial for measuring
impacts of current unprecedented global
environmental change and reliably predict-
ing future impacts.
Long-term research and monitoring is
also essential to understanding relation-
ships between the economy, ecosystems, and
risks to human well-being (4). The loss of
Australia’s LTER network will substantially
diminish resource managers’ ability to judge
the effectiveness of management interven-
tions on which billions of dollars are spent
annually (such as vegetation restoration
and invasive species control). Ending the
network will also jeopardize sustainability
assessments of resource-based industries
such as agriculture and forestry. Moreover,
Australia’s capacity to participate effectively
Edited by Jennifer Sills
LETTERS Australia’s long-term ecological
research projects are at risk.
Academics can help
shape Wikipedia
Public understanding of science is increas-
ingly important. Wikipedia is widely used
by students, educators, researchers, doctors,
journalists, and policy-makers. The online,
crowd-sourced encyclopedia site is per-
ceived as increasingly trustworthy, making
it a key public engagement platform with
immediate impacts on scientific literacy (1).
Now is an important time in the evolution
of the encyclopedia. Its parent organization,
the Wikimedia Foundation, is working to
shape its strategic focus through to 2030.
This represents an unprecedented opportu-
nity for the global scientific community to
advise on its future. Wikipedia has discus-
sion pages for users to provide feedback on
some of the upcoming challenges (2).
The scientific community can improve
Wikipedia on a more granular level by
learning to edit the encyclopedia in areas
that need improvement. Poorly written
articles can mislead readers and give a
false impression of a research field. The
recent introduction of a new editing inter-
face has made the encyclopedia as easy
to edit as a Word document, and a short
2014 article outlines some editing advice
for scientists (3).
Wikipedia is increasingly engaging
expert communities to improve accu-
racy and coverage. Interested parties can
contribute to several existing collabora-
tive initiatives or propose new ones. For
example, some academic journals (such as
PLOS Computational Biology, Gene, and
WikiJournal of Medicine) have agreed to
dual-publish articles as both a citable publi-
cation and Wikipedia page (4). The Cochrane
library, a collection of health care data-
bases, has a similar quality-improvement
DA_0811Letters.indd 557 8/9/17 10:47 AM
Published by AAAS
on August 10, 2017
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www.sciencemag.org/content/357/6351/557/suppl/DC1
Supplementary Materials for
Save Australia’s ecological research David Lindenmayer and 68 additional authors
Email:
david.lindenmayer@anu.edu.au
Published 11 August 2017, Science 357, 557 (2017)
This PDF file includes:
Full author list
Name Address/Institution Email 1 David B.
Lindenmayer Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
David.Lindenmayer@anu.edu.au
2 Emma L. Burns Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Emma.Burns@anu.edu.au
3 Christopher Dickman
Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
Chris.Dickman@sydney.edu.au
4 Peter T. Green Head, Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086
P.Green@latrobe.edu.au
5 Ary A. Hoffmann
Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Group University of Melbourne
Ary@unimelb.edu.au
6 David A. Keith Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of NSW
David.Keith@unsw.edu.au
7 John W. Morgan
Department of Ecology, Environment & Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora 3083, Victoria, Australia
J.Morgan@latrobe.edu.au
8 Jeremy Russell-Smith
Adjunct Professor. Charles Darwin University, Australia Adjunct Professor, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research Charles Darwin University
Jeremy.Russell-Smith@nt.gov.au
9 Glenda M. Wardle
Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
Glenda.Wardle@sydney.edu.au
10 Graeme G. R. Gillespie
Director Terrestrial Ecosystems Flora and Fauna Division, Department of Environment and Natural Resources 564 Vanderlin Drive Berrimah NT 0828
Graeme.Gillespie@nt.gov.au
11 Saul Cunningham
Director of the Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Saul.Cunningham@anu.edu.au
12 Charles Krebs Emeritus Professor Department of Zoology University of British Columbia 6270 University Blvd. Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4 Canada
Krebs@zoology.ubc.ca
13 Gene Likens Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Founding Director and President Emeritus Distinguished Senior Scientist Emeritus PO Box AB Millbrook, New York 12545 USA
Likensg@caryinstitute.org
14 Johan Pauw Managing Director, SAEON South African Environmental Observation Network, P.O. Box 1758, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
Johan@saeon.ac.za
15 Tiffany G. Troxler
Southeast Environmental Research Center (SERC) and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St, OE 148, Miami, Fl 33199 USA
Troxlert@fiu.edu
16 William H. McDowell
Director, New Hampshire Water Resources Research Center Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire USA
Bill.Mcdowell@unh.edu
17 Jane A. Catford Biological Sciences, Faculty of Natural & Environmental Sciences University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ United Kingdom
J.A.Catford@soton.ac.uk
18 Richard Hobbs School of Biological Science The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
Richard.Hobbs@uwa.edu.au
19 Andrew Bennett
Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia
Andy.Bennett@deakin.edu.au
20 Emily Nicholson
Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia
E.Nicholson@deakin.edu.au
21 Euan Ritchie Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia
E.Ritchie@deakin.edu.au
22 Barbara Wilson School of Life and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science Engineering & Built Environment Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
Barbara.Wilson@deakin.edu.au
23 Aaron C. Greenville
Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006 Australia
Aaron.Greenville@sydney.edu.au
24 Thomas Newsome
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
Tnew5216@uni.sydney.edu.au
25 Rick Shine School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
Rick.Shine@sydney.edu.au
26 Alex Kutt Arid and Riverine – Northern Region Bush Heritage Australia Longreach, Queensland, 4730 Australia
Alex.Kutt@bushheritage.org.au
27 Ayesha Tulloch Wildlife Conservation Society Research Fellow School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, QLD Australia
a.tulloch@uq.edu.au
28 Nicole Thurgate
Genetics and Evolution University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005 Australia
Nikki.Thurgate@adelaide.edu.au
29 Alaric Fisher Department of Land Resource Management (DLRM), Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Alaric.Fisher@nt.gov.au
30 Kate Auty Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment GPO Box 158 Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia
Kate.Auty@act.gov.au
31 Becky Smith Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment GPO Box 158 Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia
Becky.Smith@act.gov.au
32 Richard Williams
Adjunct Professorial Fellow, Charles Darwin University Visitor, University of Melbourne
Dickwilliams1955@gmail.com
33 Barry Fox School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Science Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
B.Fox@unsw.edu.au
34 Graciela Metternicht
School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Science Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
G.metternicht@unsw.edu.au
35 Xuemei Bai Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Xuemei.Bai@anu.edu.au
36 Samuel Banks Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Sam.Banks@anu.edu.au
37 Rebecca Colvin
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Rebecca.Colvin@anu.edu.au
38 Mason Crane
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Mason.Crane@anu.edu.au
39 Liz Dovey Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Liz.Dovey@anu.edu.au
40 Ceridwen Fraser
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Ceridwen.Fraser@anu.edu.au
41 Claire Foster Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Claire.Foster@anu.edu.au
42 Robert Heinsohn
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Robert.Heinsohn@anu.edu.au
43 Geoffrey Kay Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Geoff.Kay@anu.edu.au
44 Katherina Ng Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Katherina.Ng@anu.edu.au
45 Chris MacGregor
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Chris.MacGregor@anu.edu.au
46 Damian Michael
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Damian.Michael@anu.edu.au
47 Luke O’Loughlin
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Luke.OLoughlin@anu.edu.au
48 Thea O’Loughlin
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Thea.OLoughlin@anu.edu.au
49 Luciana Porfirio
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Luciana.Porfirio@anu.edu.au
50 Libby Robin Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Libby.Robin@anu.edu.au
51 David Salt Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
David.Salt@anu.edu.au
52 Chloe Sato Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Chloe.Sato@anu.edu.au
53 Ben Scheele Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Ben.Scheele@anu.edu.au
54 Janet Stein Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Janet.Stein@anu.edu.au
55 John Stein Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
John.Stein@anu.edu.au
56 Brian Walker Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Brian.Walker@anu.edu.au
57 Martin Westgate
Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Martin.Westgate@anu.edu.au
58 George Wilson Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
George.Wilson@anu.edu.au
59 Jeffrey Wood Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Jeffrey.Wood@anu.edu.au
60 Susanna Venn Research School of Biology The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Susanna.Venn@anu.edu.au
61 Michael Vardon
ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Michael.Vardon@anu.edu.au
62 Sarah Legge National Environmental Science Program Threatened Species Recovery Hub c/o The Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
SarahMariaLegge@gmail.com
63 Robert Costanza
VC's Chair in Public Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601 Australia
Rcostanz@gmail.com
64 Danny Kenny Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
dankenny9@gmail.com
65 Peter Burnett College of Law, The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
Peter.Burnett@anu.edu.au
66 Alan Welsh Mathematical Sciences Institute The Australian National University Acton, ACT, 2601 Australia
Alan.Welsh@anu.edu.au
67 Joslin Moore Senior Lecturer, Ecology School of Biological Sciences Monash University Victoria 3800, Australia
Joslin.Moore@monash.edu
68 Carla Sgrò
School of Biological Sciences Building 18, Monash University Victoria 3800, Australia
Carla.Sgro@monash.edu
69 Mark Westoby Dept of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW, 2109 Australia
Mark.Westoby@mq.edu.au
Save Australia's ecological researchDavid Lindenmayer and 68 additional authors
DOI: 10.1126/science.aao4228 (6351), 557.357Science
ARTICLE TOOLS http://science.sciencemag.org/content/357/6351/557.1
MATERIALSSUPPLEMENTARY http://science.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2017/08/09/357.6351.557-a.DC1
REFERENCEShttp://science.sciencemag.org/content/357/6351/557.1#BIBLThis article cites 3 articles, 0 of which you can access for free
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