Spring 2000  

LTER NETWORK OFFICE SEARCHES FOR OBFS LIAISON
The National Science Foundation recently made a supplemental award to the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Office to provide support and training to the member institutions of the Organization of Biological Field Stations. The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to prepare these member institutions for full participation in upcoming NSF initiatives such as the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). The LTER Network Office proposes to assist field stations, marine laboratories and associated research collections to improve their expertise in information management by providing advice and guidance through a full-time staff position. In addition, we will encourage the development of common database structures and networking among OBFS stations. Field stations and marine laboratories and their associated research collections are the primary repositories of information on the composition, structure, and dynamics of the nation’s ecosystems. Broad geographical coverage and long temporal records are unique characteristics of the information contained in these repositories.

There are four basic goals for this effort:
1. to initiate the design a system for coordinated management of field and collections data;
2. to begin to develop the capability to rapidly share information and data among field stations, marine labs, and research collections;
3. to identify a rich set of databases that would permit scientists to address research questions at a national scale; and
4. to provide enhanced educational opportunities for field station, marine lab, and research collections personnel.
The Network Office has identified a group of candidates for the staff position and is evaluating these candidates in cooperation with OBFS. We anticipate making an announcement regarding our search within the next month. The successful candidate will act as a liaison between OBFS, the LTER Network, and its collaborators such as the Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB), the informatics group at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), and the San Diego Super Computer Center (SDSC).