The document summarizes the Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS), which provides a national service to assist ecological research and natural resource management. It brings together researchers from 66 universities, government departments, and other organizations to analyze and synthesize ecological data. Working groups have generated new insights and publications. Participants found that ACEAS supported collaborations between diverse experts in a collegial environment, allowing them to address larger research questions. The center has helped expand ecological networks in Australia.

1. ACEAS: from concept to delivery.
How has it performed?
A. Specht, S. Guru, E. Weber, L. Houghton

2. We are drowning in information while starving
for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by
synthesizers, people able to put together the right
information at the right time, think critically about it,
and make important choices wisely.
—Edward O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of
Knowledge (1998)

3. Original vision
The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and
Synthesis provides a national service to the
ecosystem research community and natural
resource managers to assist in the analysis,
synthesis and evaluation of ecological data for
applied natural resource management outcomes
and the evolution of TERN into the future.

4. Original vision
The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and
Synthesis provides a national service to the
ecosystem research community and natural
resource managers to assist in the analysis,
synthesis and evaluation of ecological data for
applied natural resource management outcomes
and the evolution of TERN into the future.

5. The community
66 universities
9 CSIRO Divisions
44 government departments
18 NGOs
15 private business

6. The co-investment

7. Original vision
The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and
Synthesis provides a national service to the
ecosystem research community and natural
resource managers to assist in the
analysis, synthesis and evaluation of ecological
data for applied natural resource management
outcomes and the evolution of TERN into the
future.

8. A working group’s experience

9. New insights

10. Final reports

11. Original vision
The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and
Synthesis provides a national service to the
ecosystem research community and natural
resource managers to assist in the analysis,
synthesis and evaluation of ecological data for
applied natural resource management
outcomes and the evolution of TERN into the
future.

12. A working group’s experience

13. Science and Synthesis Products

15. Refereed publicatons
Bowman D.M.J.S., Murphy B.P., Boer M.M., Bradstock R.A., Cary G.J., Cochrane M.A.,
Fensham R.J., Krawchuk M.A., Price O.F. & Williams R.J. (in press) Forest fire
management, climate change and the risk of catastrophic carbon losses. Frontiers in
Ecology and the Environment
Bradshaw Corey J. A.; David M Bowman; Nick R Bond; Brett P Murphy; Andrew D
Moore; Damien A Fordham; Richard Thackway; Michael J Lawes; Hamish McCallum;
Stephen D Gregory; Ram C Dalal; Matthias M Boer; Jasmyn J Lynch; Ross A
Bradstock; Barry W Brook; Beverley K Henry; Leigh P Hunt; Diana O Fisher; David
Hunter; Christopher N Johnson; David A Keith; Edward C Lefroy; Trent D Penman;
Wayne Meyer; James R Thomson; Craig M Thornton; Jeremy VanDerWal; Dick
Williams; Lucy Keniger; Alison Specht (in press) Brave new green world -
consequences of a carbon economy for the conservation of Australian biodiversity.
Biological Conservation.
Murphy B.P., Bradstock R.A., Boer M.M., Carter J., Cary G.J., Cochrane M.A., Fensham
R.J., Russell-Smith J, Williamson G.J. & Bowman D.M.J.S. (2013) Fire regimes of
Australia, a pyrogeographic model system. Journal of Biogeography
Murphy B.P., Williamson G.J. & Bowman D.M.J.S. (2011) Fire regimes: moving from a
fuzzy concept to geographic entity. New Phytologist 192, 316-318.
And several others submitted and of course in prep….

16. Expanding networks

17. Performance?
How different is ACEAS ACEAS support
“Our ACEAS working group brought together a diverse
group of people with complementary skills and
experience to share data, knowledge and expertise in
a friendly, encouraging and collegial environment,”
said Tracey. “The range of expertise has allowed us to
tackle research questions with a much larger scope
than would be possible if working alone or in smaller
groups.”
Tracey Regan 16.2.13

18. thankyou