LTR-CSEE Initiative

During May 2017, the Wildlife 70 symposium on long-term research was held in Peterborough, Ontario, with a goal of exploring challenges and opportunities of long-term research.

Delegates at the meeting expressed support for a 1995 recommendation from the Royal Society of Canada1 to establish a Long-Term Ecological Research and Monitoring (LTERM) network. Although no formal network has ever been established in Canada, Wildlife 70 delegates discussed that many of the aims of the Royal Society panel could be achieved through harnessing existing LTERM programs, many of which are led by individual researchers, or informal collaborative networks. This could be accomplished by providing support to improve co-ordination among programs, encouraging collective opportunities, and by formalizing the network of researchers and sites.

We envision an open, interdisciplinary, investigator-led network, and considered that such a network might be facilitated by the CSEE. We proposed to establish a section within the CSEE in support of long-term research in Canada, to provide CSEE members interested in long-term research with an outlet for fostering greater collaboration and establishing a Canadian network.