The National Ecological Observatory Network: A Large Facility Observatory Poised to Expand Spatiotemporal Scales of Inquiry in Fisheries Science

Large spatiotemporal-scale fisheries research amid pervasive environmental change requires scientific resources beyond the capabilities of individual laboratories. Here we introduce the aquatics program in a novel institution, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), poised to substantially advance spatiotemporal scales of inquiry in fisheries research. NEON will collect high-quality data from sites distributed throughout the United States, including Alaska and Puerto Rico, for 30 years. Data products will include hundreds of metrics that comprehensively quantify the biological, chemical, and hydrogeomorphic attributes of streams, lakes and rivers in the observatory network. Coupling observations from NEON terrestrial, atmospheric, and airborne programs will facilitate unique inquiries in ecohydrology. All NEON-generated data will be posted to an entirely open-access web portal and rigorously quality controlled. Proposals that expand the observatory scope though additional observations, sites or experiments are encouraged. Thus NEON represents an unprecedented and dynamic resource for fisheries researchers in the coming decades.