The Ecological Long Tail project brought together computer and lake scientists to help address the problem of making heterogeneous data collected by disparate groups more available and interoperable for studies beyond the initial project for which they were collected. There are thousands of such ecological data sets (the long tail of ecological data sets) of great scientific value, but the full value of these data cannot be realized at present because they are collected by many different groups, using many different methods, and they are stored in many different formats. While computer scientists have worked extensively on how disparate data sets might be integrated, the lack of easily accessible tools for applying this knowledge limits the utility of this knowledge to scientists in other fields, including those who study lakes. The ability to integrate data across many kinds of studies creates benefits for the larger scientific community, but usually does not benefit the researchers who collected the original data, decreasing the incentive for them to put considerable effort into making data available for future studies. With growing expectations for the open publication of data and increased need for analyses that integrate findings across many smaller studies, the Ecological Long Tail project addressed a need to bring together scientists with the knowledge to facilitate integration with those who generate data in smaller studies. Through engagement at international meetings, direct conversations, and surveys the limitations to data sharing were better understood and the development of a prototype tool (EZ prepare) to facilitate data publication in standardized formats was accomplished, which will facilitate future integration. 

Last Modified: 12/29/2023
Modified by: Kathleen C Weathers