biology

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis rather than just read about it. In short: The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) is a research center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in Santa Barbara, California. Better known by its acronym, NCEAS (pronounced “n-seas”) opened in May 1995.

Key takeaways

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) is a research center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in Santa Barbara, California. Better known by its acronym, NCEAS (pronounced “n-seas”) opened in May 1995. Funding for NCEAS is diverse and includes supporters such as the U.S. National Science Foundation, the State of California, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. NCEAS supports cross-disciplinary research that analyzes and synthesizes existing data to address major fundamental issues in ecology and allied fields, and encourages the application of science to natural resource management and public policy decision making. To facilitate synthetic analysis, NCEAS advances new techniques in mathematical and geospatial modeling, dynamic simulation, and visualization of ecological systems through its Ecoinformatics program. Since its inception, the Center has hosted over 5,000 individuals and supported roughly 500 research projects, which have resulted in more than 2,000 publications in 300+ different journals. In addition, NCEAS engages graduate students and grade school children through a variety of outreach and education programs.

Mission NCEAS’ core mission is to foster synthesis and analysis, and promote effective collaboration among researchers to alter how science is conducted. This mission includes 3 goals:

Advance the state of ecological knowledge through the search for general patterns and principles in existing data Organize and synthesize ecological information in a manner useful to researchers, resource managers, and policy makers addressing important environmental issues Influence the way ecological research is conducted by promoting a culture of synthesis, collaboration and data sharing

Research programs Research at NCEAS focuses on three key areas: Core Ecology, Ecoinformatics, and Conservation and Resource Management.

Core Ecology - the primary research area funded by NCEAS, which includes a broad range of topics in ecology and allied fields. Ecoinformatics – research dedicated to the development and dissemination of technological tools that facilitate analysis and synthesis in ecology. Conservation and Resource Management – research focused on areas such as conservation biology and the explicit application of science to natural resource management and policy decision making.

Supported research NCEAS supports four main research activities focused on synthesizing existing data:

Working groups - 4 to 20 cross-disciplinary individuals periodically meet at the Center and work together on a specific collaborative research project. Postdoctoral researchers - early-career scientists who reside at NCEAS for 2–3 years to carry out synthetic research. Center fellows – researchers on sabbatical from their home institutions who reside at the Center to focus on a research topic within NCEAS' scope. Distributed graduate seminars – seminars that enable students and faculty from nationally or globally distributed universities to remotely collaborate on a research project. NCEAS research is funded primarily through a competitive review process. Whether collaborative groups or individuals, scientists submit a proposal with research objectives, and the NCEAS Science Advisory Board determines which merit support.

Education and outreach In addition to its research activities, NCEAS carries out a number of outreach initiatives to increase public understanding of science, to foster interest in ecology and technology professions (particularly among groups underrepresented in science) and to engage with the local community. NCEAS also offers education and training programs at all levels of sophistication, from elementary school through undergraduate and graduate studies, to continuing education of professional scientists. One notable outreach and education program at NCEAS is Kids Do Ecology, which engages elementary-age children in the science of ecology. The program consists of two parts: a bilingual website and classroom projects, in which NCEAS scientists work with students in local classrooms to carry out ecological experiments based on the scientific method.

History and funding The origin of the center can be traced to the perception among ecologists that important research themes span wide regions and long time periods. For example, research on marine fisheries must consider information from wide stretches of the ocean, and studies of long-lived forest communities must span decades. Recognizing that research in such areas cannot be accomplished by a single scientist working at one location, the National Science Foundation (NSF) recognized the need for a center whose mission was to foster synthetic research using existing data. In 1994, the NSF solicited proposals to build such a center, and the University of California, Santa Barbara was awarded $10.4 million to establish and operate the center for five years. Subsequent grants were awarded to UC Santa Barbara to continue NCEAS in 2000 ($16.6 million) and 2006 ($18.5 million). By 2005, ISI Essential Science Indicators recognized that NCEAS ranked #22 out of 38,000 institutions worldwide publishing in ecology and environmental science, in terms of scientific impact. Based on the experience with NCEAS, NSF launched a wider program of synthesis centers, including the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) and National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS). Similar efforts based on the NCEAS research approach have been undertaken internationally as well, such as the Australian Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS) and the Canadian Institute of Ecology and Evolution. In all, more than 18 centers have been modeled on the NCEAS approach. Additional support, in particular funds directed toward the Conservation and Resource Management program, comes from federal and state agencies, private foundations, and non-governmental organizations.

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

In research: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ecology organizations, Research institutes established in 1995, Research institutes in California, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in 20 minutes

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Close the page and write down what National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis means in your own words.
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Frequently asked questions

What is National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in simple terms?

Why does National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis.