Macrosystems Biology

About NSF's Macrosystems Biology Program

How does Earth's biosphere respond to natural and human-induced changes across a range of time and space scales? What is the pace and pattern of these responses? What's the effect on ecosystem services, such as the availability of freshwater, across regions and continents? Scientists conducting macrosystems biology (MSB) research are discovering the answers.

MSB Discoveries

Part 1: Data-intensive ecology needed to understand what makes the biosphere tick
Journal special issue reports new findings on macrosystems biology: biological sciences writ large

Part 2: Lawns across America: Is the US becoming one shade of green?
Study on lawn care in cities across the country finds similarities, differences important to urban sustainability

Part 3: Amphibians can acquire resistance to deadly fungus
Discovery will help conservation efforts

Part 4: Where does water go when it doesn't flow?
Study shows how much enters air from plants, soil, surface water

Part 5: Peering into the secret world of life beneath winter snows
Snow sustains species from frogs to birds to mammals in winter and beyond

Part 6: Scientists track nighttime bird migration using weather radar
Researchers studied sandhill cranes, among the largest migrating birds in North America

Part 7: Seasonality of bird migration responds to environmental cues, scientists show
Data from weather radar and ground-based citizen science projects yield new insights