Subject: NCEAS EcoEssay -- Data: The Tapestry of Nature

The NCEAS EcoEssay is a forum for new ecological ideas. The current
essay has just been released and is by Aaron M. Ellison of Mount Holyoke
College:

    Ellison, Aaron M. 1998. Data: The Tapestry of Nature. EcoEssay
Series Number 2.
        National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. Santa
Barbara, CA.

The EcoEssay can be found at http://www.nceas.ucsb.edumediarel/mr1998/mr9819.html

An excerpt from Ellison's essay...

"We know that data underscore all aspects of ecological research. They
are needed to test hypotheses, models and theories, and provide
uncomfortable prods in new directions when they fail to support our pet
ideas (see, for example, R. Hilborn & M. Mangel, The Ecological
Detective, Princeton University Press, 1997). Yet, good data are hard to
come by. The purpose of this essay is to discuss some reasons that good
data are hard to find, and to draw attention to mechanisms that can
increase data accessibility and sharing within the ecological
community."

See http://www.nceas.ucsb.edumediarel/mr1998/mr9819.html for the rest of the essay, as well as the
discussion forum surrounding the ideas proposed in the essay series..

Matt

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Matt Jones                                    jones@nceas.ucsb.edu
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/ediarel/mr1998/mr9819.html    Ph: 805-892-2508   Fax: 805-892-2510
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)
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