Institute of Ecosystem Studies

The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (Cary Institute), formerly known as the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, is an independent, not-for-profit environmental research organization dedicated to the scientific study of the world’s ecosystems and the natural and human factors that influence them. The organization is headquartered in Millbrook, NY on a 2,000-acre (810 ha) research campus. Areas of expertise include disease ecology[1][2][3], urban ecology[4][5], freshwater ecology and provisioning[6][7], and forest health[8].

The institute's research is collaborative and multidisciplinary and scientists from the institute lead two of the National Science Foundation’s Long Term Ecological Research Network sites: the Baltimore Ecosystem Study[9] (Baltimore, MD; focus: urban ecology) and the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (Woodstock, NH; focus: forest and freshwater health). They also play a leadership role in the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network, an international effort that shares and interprets high resolution sensor data to understand, predict, and communicate the role and response of lakes in a changing global environment.

The Cary Institute’s grounds have been home to long-term studies on the ecology of tickborne disease[10] for more than 20 years. Findings underpin The Tick Project[11], a 5-year study testing interventions with the potential to reduce Lyme disease and protect public health. A three-decade research program on the Hudson River[12] informs sustainable shoreline management, and a synthesis of imported forest pests and pathogens is the basis for Tree-SMART Trade[13], a national policy initiative aimed at closing the door on imported forest pests.

Cary Institute scientists advise decision makers, from providing Congressional testimony to serving as members of the National Climate Assessment, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Scientific Advisory Board[14], the White House National Science and Technology Council’s Epidemic Prediction Working Group, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Staff includes a total of about 120 employees, including 20 Ph.D. scientists, as well as adjuncts and affiliates working around the world in places like Argentina, Brazil, China, Chile, Germany, Kenya, Singapore, and South Africa. Institute scientists have peer recognition including three Members of the National Academy of Sciences, four Members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, nine Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and six Fellows of the Ecological Society of America.

While the Cary Institute is not itself a degree-granting institution, numerous graduate students are trained under the mentorship of the scientific staff, who have adjunct appointments at colleges and universities through out the world, including Yale, Cornell, Princeton, Columbia, and Bard. The Cary Institute is home to the longest-running Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, and has been hosting students since 1987.

Organized as a 501(c)(3) corporation, the Cary Institute receives financial support from multiple sources that include research and education grants from federal and state sources (e.g., the National Science Foundation, United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institutes of Health), private foundations, and private donors.

References

  1. ↑ "Deconstructing Lyme disease". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "Reservoir rats". The Economist. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "Can genetically modified bugs save lives?". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  4. ↑ Cohn, Meredith. "Study shows poorer neighborhoods have more mosquitoes". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  5. ↑ Mooney, Chris. "Why diseases like Zika could unfairly target America’s poor". Washington Post. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  6. ↑ Lewis, Danny. "Streams around Baltimore are flush with amphetamines". Smithsonian. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Newman, Katelyn. "Road salt threatens U.S. freshwater Lakes". US News & World Report. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Mooney, Chris. "Invasive insects are ravaging U.S. forests, and it’s costing us billions". Washington Post. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  9. ↑ Cressey, Daniel (27 August 2015). "Ecologists embrace their urban side". Nature. pp. 399–400. doi:10.1038/524399a. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  10. ↑ Doucleff, Michaeleen; Greenhalgh, Jane. "Forbidding forecast for Lyme disease In the Northeast". National Public Radio. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Ferro, John. "Major study aims to kill ticks, lower Lyme rates". The Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  12. ↑ Strayer, D. L.; Cole, J. J.; Findlay, S. E. G.; Fischer, D. T.; Gephart, J. A.; Malcom, H. M.; Pace, M. L.; Rosi-Marshall, E. J. (1 June 2014). "Decadal-Scale Change in a Large-River Ecosystem". BioScience. 64 (6): 496–510. ISSN 0006-3568. doi:10.1093/biosci/biu061.
  13. ↑ Lovett, Gary; Weiss, Marissa; Lambert, Kathy Fallon. "Forest pests and pathogens in the United States: Community impacts and opportunities for Tree-SMART Trade" (PDF). Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "Members of the Science Advisory Board". US EPA.

See also

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