Skip to main content
NSF NEON | Open Data to Understand our Ecosystems logo

Main navigation

  • About Us
    • Overview
      • Spatial and Temporal Design
      • History
    • Vision and Management
    • Advisory Groups
      • Advisory Committee: STEAC
      • Technical Working Groups (TWGs)
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us
      • Field Offices
    • User Accounts
    • Staff

    About Us

  • Data & Samples
    • Data Portal
      • Explore Data Products
      • Data Availability Charts
      • Spatial Data & Maps
      • Document Library
      • API & GraphQL
      • Prototype Data
      • External Lab Data Ingest (restricted)
    • Samples & Specimens
      • Discover and Use NEON Samples
        • Sample Types
        • Sample Repositories
        • Sample Explorer
        • Megapit and Distributed Initial Characterization Soil Archives
        • Excess Samples
      • Sample Processing
      • Sample Quality
      • Taxonomic Lists
    • Collection Methods
      • Protocols & Standardized Methods
      • AIrborne Remote Sensing
        • Flight Box Design
        • Flight Schedules and Coverage
        • Daily Flight Reports
        • Camera
        • Imaging Spectrometer
        • Lidar
      • Automated Instruments
        • Site Level Sampling Design
        • Sensor Collection Frequency
        • Instrumented Collection Types
          • Meteorology
          • Phenocams
          • Soil Sensors
          • Ground Water
          • Surface Water
      • Observational Sampling
        • Site Level Sampling Design
        • Sampling Schedules
        • Observation Types
          • Aquatic Organisms
            • Aquatic Microbes
            • Fish
            • Macroinvertebrates & Zooplankton
            • Periphyton, Phytoplankton, and Aquatic Plants
          • Terrestrial Organisms
            • Birds
            • Ground Beetles
            • Mosquitoes
            • Small Mammals
            • Soil Microbes
            • Terrestrial Plants
            • Ticks
          • Hydrology & Geomorphology
            • Discharge
            • Geomorphology
          • Biogeochemistry
          • DNA Sequences
          • Pathogens
          • Sediments
          • Soils
            • Soil Descriptions
    • Data Notifications
    • Data Guidelines and Policies
      • Acknowledging and Citing NEON
      • Publishing Research Outputs
      • Usage Policies
    • Data Management
      • Data Availability
      • Data Formats and Conventions
      • Data Processing
      • Data Quality
      • Data Product Revisions and Releases
        • Release 2021
        • Release 2022
        • Release 2023
      • NEON and Google
      • Externally Hosted Data

    Data & Samples

  • Field Sites
    • About Field Sites and Domains
    • Explore Field Sites
    • Site Management Data Product

    Field Sites

  • Impact
    • Observatory Blog
    • Case Studies
    • Spotlights
    • Papers & Publications
    • Newsroom
      • NEON in the News
      • Newsletter Archive

    Impact

  • Resources
    • Getting Started with NEON Data & Resources
    • Documents and Communication Resources
      • Papers & Publications
      • Document Library
      • Outreach Materials
    • Code Hub
      • Code Resources Guidelines
      • Code Resources Submission
      • NEON's GitHub Organization Homepage
    • Learning Hub
      • Science Videos
      • Tutorials
      • Workshops & Courses
      • Teaching Modules
      • Faculty Mentoring Networks
      • Data Education Fellows
    • Research Support and Assignable Assets
      • Field Site Coordination
      • Letters of Support
      • Mobile Deployment Platforms
      • Permits and Permissions
      • AOP Flight Campaigns
      • Excess Samples
      • Assignable Assets FAQs
    • Funding Opportunities

    Resources

  • Get Involved
    • Advisory Groups
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • NEON Ambassador Program
    • Collaborative Works
      • EFI-NEON Ecological Forecasting Challenge
      • NCAR-NEON-Community Collaborations
      • NEON Science Summit
      • NEON Great Lakes User Group
    • Community Engagement
    • Science Seminars and Data Skills Webinars
    • Work Opportunities
      • Careers
      • Seasonal Fieldwork
      • Postdoctoral Fellows
      • Internships
        • Intern Alumni
    • Partners

    Get Involved

  • My Account
  • Search

Search

Impact

  • Observatory Blog
  • Case Studies
  • Spotlights
  • Papers & Publications
  • Newsroom

Breadcrumb

  1. Impact
  2. Observatory Blog
  3. In choosing taxa for the continental scale

In choosing taxa for the continental scale

June 16, 2010

Over my past two and a half years at NEON, there is one question that I have been asked more than any other: Why is NEON not studying *--insert taxon of interest--*? I think an easier way to address this question would be to consider: How did NEON choose its sentinel taxa (i.e., organisms of focus)? NEON is tasked with enabling research that addresses several Grand Challenges (biogeochemistry, biodiversity, climate change, ecohydrology, infectious disease, land use and invasive species). To best address the Grand Challenges, NEON selected key sentinel organisms the Fundamental Sentinel Unit (FSU) team will observe that represent different phylogenetic complexities, life histories, and responses to community and environmental changes. These organisms all have broad geographic distributions, generally have high population turnover rates, and are thought to be sentinels of changes in the environment. Sentinel organisms were also chosen to represent a broad spectrum of taxon sensitivity to various changes in community composition, land use, and climate. With these objectives in mind, NEON will focus on the following sentinel taxa: soil bacteria, archaea and fungi; ground beetles; mosquitoes; small mammals such as Peromyscus spp (deer mice); plants; and birds. NEON will also focus on several aquatic sentinels, but I will only discuss the terrestrial sentinel taxa here.

Soil microbes have been chosen because they are intimately tied to ecosystem function and health and have the ability to respond rapidly to environmental changes. Developing an understanding of their phylogenetic diversity, their role in biogeochemical processes, and how these relate to one another will address three of NEON’s Grand Challenges.

Ground beetles are well known taxonomically. Further, they are relatively common in many habitats, are known to be sensitive to habitat change, vegetation and soil conditions, and have been extensively used as indicators of environmental change.

Mosquitoes were chosen because they are ubiquitous and important vectors of disease. They are also relatively easy to sample and populations are sensitive to climate variation. Mosquito species range expansions and invasions of non-native species are presently occurring (e.g., Aedes albopictus, which is spreading across North America) and expected to increase with warming climates in temperate latitudes, which can impact the spread of disease.

Peromsycus serve as sources of infectious disease including Hantavirus, Lyme disease, plague, and tularemia. Peromyscus spp population size can be linked to land use and climate change, and therefore it also serves as a good indicator species. Long-term monitoring of plant communities will help address changes in biodiversity, invasive species, and productivity. Additionally, three species shall be chosen at each site to study phenology.

Birds were chosen because of the long history of data collection at the national scale, and the ability to tie into a larger dataset to examine long term trends. Bird diversity is related to several of the grand challenge areas (e.g., diverse bird communities can be indicators of highly functioning food webs).

While one would love to be able to study all things at all times, clearly, as with all projects, one must make hard decisions to limit the scope of the research so that the work is meaningful and can still be done within a defined budget. Though I was not involved with NEON during the original taxon selection process, I now have a deep appreciation for the impacts of taxon selection on the larger project and how difficult it is to design a project with the large spatial and temporal scope that NEON has. I think it is useful to remember the context in which these taxa have been chosen and how they will be used during NEON operations. Given NEON’s large scope and the requirement to design standardized sampling methods for all sentinel taxa at all 60 NEON sites, I think the sentinel taxa do a very good job addressing all of the Grand Challenges and will provide an enormous wealth of data across several trophic levels.

Share

Related Posts:

A Drone of Our Own: NEON Adds Drone-Based Leaf Sampling Protocol
December 8, 2022
When Permafrost Thaws—Over and Over Again
May 18, 2022
NEON Data Release 2023 is available
January 27, 2023
NEON Logo

Follow Us:

Join Our Newsletter

Get updates on events, opportunities, and how NEON is being used today.

Subscribe Now

Footer

  • My Account
  • About Us
  • Newsroom
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Careers

Copyright © Battelle, 2019-2020

The National Ecological Observatory Network is a major facility fully funded by the National Science Foundation.

Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.