Sitting at the interface of human societies and the natural environment are sentinels tracking environmental change. Across the globe, field stations and marine laboratories (FSMLs) amass crucial information about climate, biodiversity, environmental health, and emerging diseases, anchoring multidecadal data sets needed to solve environmental challenges of the Anthropocene. These observatories are now in danger of being shut down—part of the collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On every continent, facilities have been shuttered and field courses canceled because of restricted travel. This has reduced the flow of financial support to these stations, debilitating their capacity to collect essential information and train the next generation of scientists. Two-thirds of university support for the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in eastern Ecuador—situated in Earth’s most biologically diverse region, at the confluence of the Amazon Basin and Andes—came from international universities, nearly all of which was permanently terminated during the pandemic. The renowned Asa Wright Centre in Trinidad and Tobago closed in April. Further, FSML budgets are menaced by pandemic-related deficits suffered by their parent institutions—which are generally universities (a reflection of their importance to education and training) but also include museums, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations—potentially compromising every facet of their operations.
As Earth’s population swells to 8 billion, understanding and predicting human impacts on the planet become ever more urgent. Both long-term and real-time data are needed to quantify the repercussions of deforestation, agricultural intensification, desertification, climate change, ocean acidification, and other stresses if we are to mitigate their effects, plan adaptive responses, and develop national and international policies. Nature’s struggles are humanity’s struggles: As biodiversity is lost and ecosystems erode, so will the quality of our air, waters, and soils. This degradation will also affect the essential ecosystem services that nature consistently provides. Crop pollination services alone are estimated as a $500 billion annual benefit for society. And emerging pathogens will continue to be a threat across all borders. Environmental data to guide sound, science-based solutions, and broader public understanding and engagement, are necessary to overcome these mounting environmental challenges.
FSMLs are essential for educating and training the next generation of scientists. Immersive in situ experiences are foundational to those seeking careers in biology and ecology, geology and soil science, oceanography, hydrology and limnology, meteorology, conservation, and resource management. Evidence shows that field courses close demographic gaps in science participation and persistence and improve diversity across disciplines. Virtual materials and live-stream research-based field experiences simply cannot supplant place-based learning, curiosity-driven exploration, the life-changing value of discovery, and the realization that Earth is still a little-known planet. Furthermore, FSMLs play a broader role in education. Field course alumni become educators and school administrators, or pursue careers in medicine, law, social services, and business, among other professions. Scientists and nonscientists alike take away a deeper understanding and appreciation for nature and a propensity to embrace an ethic of planetary stewardship.
In January 2021, an international call to protect funding for field stations, marine labs, and field courses, imperiled by the pandemic, was circulated to professional society mailing lists. The signature petition has since been endorsed by 21 past presidents of the Ecological Society of America; active and past leadership of multiple international scientific and educational organizations; and more than 2200 scientists, station directors, educators, and concerned citizens worldwide. And last month, the US Congress passed the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Future Act (House bill H.R. 2225) with bipartisan support, which includes provisions for national labs, field stations, and marine labs. Despite NSF’s pivotal role in supporting FSMLs for decades, its funding is generally limited to new initiatives and infrastructure. NSF dollars are rarely sufficient to support staff, maintenance, courses, and other day-to-day station needs. The issue will hopefully receive bipartisan support from the Senate as well.
The pandemic has cut revenue streams to FSMLs for a second year. At a time when environmental issues demand even greater attention, the world cannot risk undermining their contributions to scientific literacy, environmental research, and student training—all of which are essential to protect Earth’s bountiful natural heritage and life-sustaining ecosystems. Universities, governments, and other organizations must find ways to save these global sentinels—all life depends on them.
