Harnessing environmental data collected across wide spatial and temporal scales
Building the Database
The Need
The supply of elements and energy governs biological activity from cellular to ecosystem scales and can be profoundly influenced by human activity. Previous studies have used the ecological stoichiometry framework to examine how the relative supply of elements influences biogeochemistry and food webs in inland aquatic ecosystems. However, our ability to test stoichiometric theory at broad spatial scales across these ecosystems has been hampered by the lack of a comprehensive stoichiometry database.
The Response
The Ecological Stoichiometry Cooperative (ESC) is aiming to address this need by building a new database called Stoichiometric Traits of Organisms In their Chemical Habitats (STOICH). The construction of this database is one of the main objectives of the ES Cooperative’s NSF-funded STOICH project.
Contribute to the Database or help us identify Data Gaps
The ESC aims to encourage community member contributions to the STOICH database. With each contribution, the breadth of this database will increase, as well as its value to scientists who use it. We are excited for the STOICH project to assist our community in addressing stoichiometric questions regarding ecosystems, communities, organisms, and evolution.
ESC 