July 2020: What’s New With NEON?

This month, we are featuring the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)’s involvement in supporting researchers and agencies in the development of several new biodiversity tools and resources. Specifically, we highlight how NEON data provides the framework for ongoing studies to track continental biodiversity trends, the impact of climate on wildlife communities, and to further understand the environmental factors behind insect dynamics that impact public health. These new models and data resources are projected to continue accelerating ecological discoveries in the long term.

This Month’s Spotlight

The latest news from the NEON project includes: 

1. With the help of NEON data, researchers used the Ordway Swisher Biological Station (OSBS) field site in Florida to develop a model for tick population dynamics, to further their understanding of the environmental drivers behind tick properties that impact public health.

2. NASA, in partnership with the USA National Phenology Network and the Phenocam Network, has leveraged NEON data in two of its biodiversity projects to track how climate change and other factors will impact wildlife communities and phenology, with hopes to share the most innovative biodiversity data with the global scientific community.

3. Scientists are using NEON data to consolidate diverse data sources and develop a new statistical modeling framework, called an Integrated Community Model, with the aim of assessing the status, trends and dynamics of biodiversity on an ongoing basis across the country.

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by Battelle, NEON is a continental-scale ecological observatory facility dedicated to providing high-quality, consistently generated data that is free and available to all users. By enabling scientists, researchers, and students to address critical questions and understand ecosystem changes over time, the NEON project allows the ecological community to tackle questions and problems at a scale that wasn’t possible before. 

You can read about the latest research in the NEON Spotlight every month at Inside Battelle, and also on our social media channels. For more information about NEON, visit NEONscience.org.