In this paper, we present a conceptual framework for investigating ecological patterns and processes at regional to continental scales. Ecological phenomena operate across a range of scales (Figure 1), but the development of ecological theory of regions to continents lags behind that of finer scales. Better understanding of broad scales is needed because these are the extents over which many environmental problems have their causes and consequences. Our framework incorporates existing theories from other ecological subdisciplines and environmental disciplines, to promote broad-scale ecology as more general, integrative, and predictive.We define "macroscales" as regional to continental extents with distances spanning hundreds to thousands of kilometers (ie larger than landscapes; Urban et al. 1987). "Components" at these spatial scales (Figure 2) are biological (eg species, populations, communities), geophysical (eg climate, physiography, hydrology, geochemistry), and social (eg political systems, economies, cultures), and can span timescales ranging from days to millennia. When interacting with one another and with phenomena at other spatial or temporal scales, these components constitute a "macrosystem"; macrosystems ecology (MSE) is the study of such extensive and multiscaled systems. This perspective treats patterns and processes as dynamic and interactive, both within and across scales of time and space.n MotivationsThe emergence of MSE has been driven by three main factors: pressing societal needs for ecological predictions at these wider scales; the increasing focus on mechanistic studies that cover broad extents across a range of ecological subdisciplines; and a wealth of new methodological and technological capabilities that enable scientists to carry out such studies. These three interrelated issues will continue to shape the development of MSE.Ecologists are increasingly asked to address environmental problems and policies with causes and consequences that operate over broad extents (Clark et al. 2001;Peters et al. 2011;Liu et al. 2013). For example, scientists and policy makers are unsure how climate and land-use changes will influence the provision of multiple ecosystem services, at both local and regional scales (Qiu Macrosystems ecology is the study of diverse ecological phenomena at the scale of regions to continents and their interactions with phenomena at other scales. This emerging subdiscipline addresses ecological questions and environmental problems at these broad scales. Here, we describe this new field, show how it relates to modern ecological study, and highlight opportunities that stem from taking a macrosystems perspective. We present a hierarchical framework for investigating macrosystems at any level of ecological organization and in relation to broader and finer scales. Building on well-established theory and concepts from other subdisciplines of ecology, we identify feedbacks, linkages among distant regions, and interactions that cross scales of space and time as the most likely sou...

High-performing collaborative research teams KS Cheruvelil et al. 32www.frontiersinecology.org

The Neotoma Paleoecology Database is a community-curated data resource that supports interdisciplinary global change research by enabling broad-scale studies of taxon and community diversity, distributions, and dynamics during the large environmental changes of the past. By consolidating many kinds of data into a common repository, Neotoma lowers costs of paleodata management, makes paleoecological data openly available, and offers a high-quality, curated resource. Neotoma's distributed scientific governance model is flexible and scalable, with many open pathways for participation by new members, data contributors, stewards, and research communities. The Neotoma data model supports, or can be extended to support, any kind of paleoecological or paleoenvironmental data from sedimentary archives. Data additions to Neotoma are growing and now include >3.8 million observations, >17,000 datasets, and >9200 sites. Dataset types currently include fossil pollen, vertebrates, diatoms, ostracodes, macroinvertebrates, plant macrofossils, insects, testate amoebae, geochronological data, and the recently added organic biomarkers, stable isotopes, and specimen-level data. Multiple avenues exist to obtain Neotoma data, including the Explorer map-based interface, an application programming interface, the neotoma R package, and digital object identifiers. As the volume and variety of scientific data grow, community-curated data resources such as Neotoma have become foundational infrastructure for big data science.

This study presents pollen-based climate reconstructions of Holocene temperature and precipitation seasonality for two high-resolution pollen sequences from the central (Lake Accesa, central Italy) and eastern Mediterranean (Tenaghi Philippon, Greece) regions. The quantitative climate reconstruction uses multiple methods to provide an improved assessment of the uncertainties involved in palaeoclimate reconstructions. The multimethod approach comprises Partial Least Squares regression, Weighted Average Partial Least Squares regression, the Modern Analogues Technique, and the Non-MetricMultidimensional Scaling/Generalized Additive Model method. We find two distinct climate intervals during the Holocene. The first is a moist period from 9500 to 7800 cal. BP characterised by wet winters and dry summers, resulting in a strongly seasonal hydrological contrast (stronger than today) that is interrupted by a short-lived event around 8200 cal. BP. This event is characterised by wet winters and summers at Accesa whereas at Tenaghi Philippon the signal is stronger, reversing the established seasonal pattern, with dry winters and wet summers. The second interval represents a later aridification phase, with a reduced seasonal contrast and lower overall precipitation, lasting from 7800 to 5000 cal. BP. Present-day Mediterranean conditions were established between 2500 and 2000 cal. BP. Many studies show the Holocene to have a complex pattern of climatic change across the Mediterranean regions. Our results confirm the traditional understanding of an evolution from wetter (early Holocene) to drier climatic conditions (late Holocene), but highlight the role of changing seasonality during this time. Our data yield new insights into the aspect of seasonality changes, and explain the apparent discrepancies between the previously available climate information based on pollen, lake-levels and isotopes by invoking changes in precipitation seasonality.