Broad-scale temporal or spatial scientific investigations, such as those represented by macrosystems ecology (MSE) projects, address very complex problems that require the collection and synthesis of data from many sources, the collaboration of people from diverse disciplines, and the application of highly complex analytical approaches (Goring et al. 2014;Heffernan et al. 2014). The thorough and transparent documentation of procedures for data collection, processing, and analysis is critical for the success of such projects, and effective information management strategies are required. A wide range of approaches to information management are currently in use, from modest informal information management by individual investigators, to one or more information managers supporting a multi-investigator project (eg a Long Term Ecological Research [LTER] site), to an entire information technology department supporting research platforms (eg National Ecological Observatory Network [NEON]). Most MSE projects fall somewhere on the continuum between the extremes of a single investigator and a NEON-type platform in their information management needs, protocols, and procedures.Data are valuable beyond the original MSE project and should be preserved and made accessible, particularly if public funds were used in their creation (eg National Science Foundation [NSF]). Time, effort, and potentially expensive equipment are needed to collect data that, in a changing world, quickly become irreplaceable (Wolkovich et al. 2012), and many MSE projects rely on previously collected data. However, publishing data requires offering other researchers and the public unfettered and full access to those data (Molloy 2011). For the researcher this means relinquishing complete control over one's data, as well as exposing the data and research to a greater degree of scrutiny than in the past. This prospect, and the reluctance felt by some researchers regarding "open science", is as old as scientific discoveries themselves. The advent of scientific journals facilitated an openness with regard to information, as long as all the data and procedures could be published in a journal article (Nielsen 2012). Yet contemporary science has long surpassed the ability to include all the data in journal articles, and com- MACROSYSTEMS ECOLOGYCompleting the data life cycle: using information management in macrosystems ecology research An important goal of macrosystems ecology (MSE) research is to advance understanding of ecological systems at both fine and broad temporal and spatial scales. Our premise in this paper is that MSE projects require integrated information management at their inception. Such efforts will lead to improved communication and sharing of knowledge among diverse project participants, better science outcomes, and more transparent and accessible (ie "open") science. We encourage researchers to "complete the data life cycle" by publishing welldocumented datasets, thereby facilitating re-use of the data to answer new and different questions f...

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Abstract. Many scientists around the world became interested in the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research (U.S. LTER) Network's research model during the 1990s and began to develop LTER and Long Term Socio-ecological Research networks in their own countries. These local networks, including the U.S. LTER Network, were loosely federated in 1993 to form the International Long Term Ecological Research (ILTER) Network, a "network of networks." Although the first 10 yr of ILTER Network activities were largely supported by funds from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the ILTER Network had transformed into a robust, self-sustaining entity by 2006 following a two-year strategic planning process. The goal of the ILTER Network is to improve understanding of how pressures such as climate change and land use affect global ecosystems in order to inform solutions to current and future environmental problems. To fulfill this mission, the ILTER Network fosters collaborations among member scientists to extend the scope of their research across disciplinary boundaries and across more of the ILTER's 600+ research sites. The ILTER Network also has many long-term data sets that are freely available for use by students, scientists, and policymakers all over the world. In this collection of papers, we consider how the ILTER Network has been, and will be, leveraged by U.S. researchers to advance understanding of ecological and socio-ecological systems around the globe.