Biodiversity represents a complex and rapidly changing feature of ecosystems that is currently under intensive investigation by two distinct groups of scientists; those that study its distribution and those that study its function in ecological processes. Understanding the environmental consequences of widespread changes in biodiversity, however, requires bringing these groups together. BioMERGE (Biotic Mechanisms of Ecosystem Regulation in the Global Environment) will be a research-coordinating network that will foster the merger of these two groups. It will develop electronic networks to coordinate the sharing and dissemination of scientific findings among participating scientists. It will also sponsor a series of workshops that will periodically assemble core participants to resolve emerging theoretical and empirical issues, develop analytical tools, evaluate and recommend scientific protocol, and identify future priorities in biodiversity research. BioMERGE will also serve as an information gateway for both scientists and non-scientists alike by providing non-technical consensus papers, bibliographies, glossaries, and summaries of important findings.
