Welcome to our Summer 2024 newsletter! Highlights from TERN 2024 include release of a pilot Threatened Frog Index; unravelling groundwater dependent ecosystems; and working with Indigenous Rangers on coastal monitoring. Before you start working your way through the stories in our last newsletter for 2024, take a bow – you made it happen. I am so appreciative of our staff, citizen scientists and volunteers, the wider ecosystem science researcher community and our partner institutions for delivering such high-quality ecosystem monitoring, data services and engagement activities this year. It is through your collegiality, commitment and competence that we fulfil TERN’s vision of advancing ecosystem science and contributing to sustainable management of Australia’s environment.
Image above. From L-R. TERN’s Advisory Board Chair, Professor Hugh Possingham, with MOU signatories, Dr Eunjin Park (NIE) and Dr Paula Mabee (NEON) plus TERN’s Dr Beryl Morris. Back L-R: Dr Seungbum Hong, Dr Jiae An, Dr Hyohyemi Lee, Mr Christopher McKay, Dr Kate Thibault, Dr Christine Laney, Dr Hank Loescher and Dr Michael SanClements. (Image: N. Rakotopare)
This month, TERN released the first ever data on the status of threatened frogs in Australia. Frogs are the first new group to be added to the Threatened Species Index (TSX) since TERN took over the TSX in 2021.
For the moment, we are describing the Threatened Frog Index trends as interim. This is because the TSX team is still looking to integrate a number of key long-term datasets we’ve only recently received. Also, by letting our community know about the pilot, we are hoping that awareness will translate into more data contributions, which will be invaluable for filling the many spatial, temporal and species gaps in the data.
TERN held its annual Strategic Planning Workshop on 2 December in Brisbane. Topics covered were international collaboration, collections, the concept of ecosystems, skills, industry, Indigenous knowledge and Artificial Intelligence.
The workshop attendees included TERN’s governance groups – the Advisory Board, Science Advisory Committee and TERN Executive Group, the TERN Regional Ambassadors from Australian states and territories, 4 representatives from the Korean National Institute of Ecology (NIE), with which TERN has an MOU, and 6 senior members of the National Ecological Observing Network in the USA (NEON). We also had a number of subject experts join discussions.
We were delighted to be witnesses to NEON and NIE signing an MOU as everyone took a break for lunch. See image.
The International Conference on Research Infrastructures (ICRI) took place at the W Hotel in Brisbane, Australia (see image) from 3-6 December. ICRI is held every 2 years and this was the first time Australia has been the host. There were many comments among the 700 or so in-person delegates about the distance to Australia!
For the Australians, ICRI was a wonderful opportunity to showcase what Australia’s NCRIS projects are achieving. TERN was involved in talks, an NCRIS exhibition on the capabilities of all the projects, exchanging ideas with international delegates, running a side event for the Global Ecosystem Research Infrastructrue (GERI), and hosting site visits to 3 of our SuperSites (Samford, Robson Creek and Cumberland Plains).
An important output of ICRI was the Brisbane Statement. This is a critical policy document in that it recognises Research Infrastructures as the foundation of global research excellence, underpinning the research sector’s ability to adapt to new challenges and answer new scientific questions.
Happy reading and all the best until 2025 – Dr Beryl Morris, TERN Australia Director.
