Over the last few hundred years, the world has changed at unprecedented rates and scales.  Many ecosystems are fragmented remnants of their former selves.  Entire guilds of species have been nearly wiped out.  Formerly rare species have been introduced around the world.  And climate change is inexorably pushing species’ boundaries into new realms.  Understanding and tackling such global-scale phenomena requires global research that integrates scientific consensus with public awareness and thus individual action.   

Through the HSBC Climate Partnership, the Terrestrial Ecology laboratory has been engaging Citizen Scientists in research examining the impacts of habitat destruction, overabundant deer, and invasive plants on forest dynamics.  The study aims to reveal which tree species are becoming more or less common as a result of these multiple combined stressors, and to investigate the causes and consequences for changes in community dynamics.  The study is linked to similar studies being conducted worldwide, all of which are incorporating Citizen Scientists, thus providing a truly global ecological research program that incorporates thousands of stakeholders from the scientific, corporate, and educational communities.