ITASCA BIOLOGICAL STATION & LABORATORIES CEDAR CREEK ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE RESERVE COUNCIL OF RESEARCH...

I TA S C A B I O L O G I C A L S TAT I O N & L A B O R AT O R I E S

C E D A R C R E E K E C O S Y S T E M S C I E N C E R E S E RV E

C O U N C I L O F R E S E A R C H A S S O C I A T E D E A N SF E B R U A R Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 0

R O B E R T E L D E

The University of MinnesotaField Stations

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What are field stations?

“Field stations are places where we can read the book of life in the language in which it was

written.”

James Kirchner, U. C. Berkeley

“Scientists working at field stations and laboratories strive to understand natural

processes at every scale, from the molecular to the global,

from milliseconds to eons.”

From the Organization of Biological Field Stations’ mission statement, 2009

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EDUCATION

Student evaluations of field courses regularly use such phrases as “best class ever” or “life-changing.” They often come away with

strong friendships and a new perception of the world.

Lessons learned at field stations remain with students throughout their lives. They carry with them a deeper appreciation for the

importance of natural systems, and some find a new focus.

Many of today’s working scientists look back on a class or a summer spent a field station has a key event that determined their career

path.

Source: OBFS brochure

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RESEARCH

Just as research hospitals are critical for medical breakthroughs, and telescopes

essential for extending our knowledge of the universe, field stations provide the

critical, real–world laboratories environmental scientists need to further our

understanding of the Earth and its processes.


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RESEARCH

Field stations provide protected environments in which researchers can conduct the long-term studies required

for making fundamental discoveries.

They serve as meeting places where scientists from different disciplines – ecologists, geologists, or engineers – can come together to share their expertise and provide valuable new

perspectives for approaching environmental questions.

They also furnish a supporting environment where veteran researchers can extend their legacies by mentoring new

generations of young scientists.


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An Example

Marine Biological Laboratory

Founded in 1888

International center for research and education in biology, biomedicine and ecology

Coastal setting – Woods Hole, MA

53 MBL affiliated scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize

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CoastalField

Stations – other

examples

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories

Friday Harbor Laboratories (University of Washington)

University of California Natural Reserve System

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InlandField

Stations – other

examples

Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (Stanford)

University of California Natural Reserve System

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UC Natural Reserve System (n=36)

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Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve

Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories

Field StationsUniversity of Minnesota

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Minnesota Seaside Station 1900 – 1907 Josephine Tilden, Professor of Botany

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1930s – initial land acquisition

1942 – transferred from Minnesota Academy of Sciences to the UofM

1909 Forestry station within Itasca State Park

1935 Expanded to Biological Station

History

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The Trophic Dynamic Aspect of Ecology, 1942, Raymond Lindeman

Telemetry for animal tracking, John Tester, et al

Role of biodiversity in the services that ecosystems provide, David Tilman

“… the site is rapidly becoming one of ecology’s classic localities.” Nee and Lawton, Nature 380:672–673 (1996)

Bio-geological history of MN since the last ice age, Regents Professors Emeritus Herb Wright, Margaret Davis

Acid Rain, Regents Professor Emeritus Eville Gorham

Management of natural ecosystems, John Tester

RESEARCH - Historical

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Attract the world's most capable scientists to our field stations. The experiments they conduct will contribute significantly to solving the grand challenges facing life on planet Earth.

GOAL

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See poster Metagenome of the Mississippi Watershed

Long-term, dynamic monitoring of ecosystems (wireless

remote sensing) – National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)

RESEARCH - Current

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Summer undergrad internship program (~80 students)

Graduate student research

Intense summer seminar program

Undergraduate Field biology (eg, ecology,

limnology, telemetry) Nature of Life (all CBS

freshmen) NSF REUs

Graduate “boot camps” Neuroscience BMBB/GCD Plant Sciences

NSF IGERTs

EDUCATION

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K-12 EducationCommunity

Itasca State Park (~500,000 visitors/year)

School Districts HHMI-funded program

OUTREACH

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28 buildings 2 Classrooms and

Laboratories 11

Student/faculty/staff housing (2450 bed nights)

12 Staff (March – November)

$448K expenditures

59 buildings 8 Classrooms &

Laboratories 21 Student housing 17 Faculty/staff housing 10,038 bed nights

14 Staff (March – November)

$532K expenditures

FACILITIES & OPERATIONS

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Direction of ecosystem science - 1

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Infrastructure requirements Buildings (year-round use)

Bandwidth and computation

RESEARCH

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Lindeman Research & Discovery Center

New and anticipated facilities

I TA S C A B I O L O G I C A L S TAT I O N & L A B O R AT O R I E S

C E D A R C R E E K E C O S Y S T E M S C I E N C E R E S E RV E

P R O V O S T ’ S R E S E A R C H C O U N C I LD E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 9

R O B E R T E L D E

The University of MinnesotaField Stations

ITASCA BIOLOGICAL STATION & LABORATORIES CEDAR CREEK ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE RESERVE COUNCIL OF RESEARCH...

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