DEB-0544929 This award is will organize and conduct a workshop, Frontiers in Ecology, to address emerging research priorities in ecology. To reflect the growth and new developments in ecological biology, this workshop will consider theoretical and empirical approaches and tools that address patterns and processes that define ecological systems at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The scope will include the range of ecological research and topics considered by the Ecological Biology Cluster and related programs in the Directorate for Biological Sciences at NSF. The workshop is planned to take place on January 12-13, 2006, at NSF in Arlington. The specific goals of this meeting are to: 1) review, discuss, and provide perspective on current research activities and progress in ecological biology, 2) propose a framework of research priorities that highlights areas where rapid progress seems likely, and 3) produce a report of our findings to be used by NSF staff and others. The topics to be considered at this workshop integrally involve several programs at NSF; the conclusions will undoubtedly foster greater cross-disciplinary efforts. In addition, several of the likely topic areas, such as landscape, disease, invasive species, and urban ecology, are of broader societal relevance.
