Help save the Portal Project

The Portal Project is one of the most influential long-term studies in ecology. Started by James Brown in 1977 the site is censused a total of 15 times per year to study the ecology of plants, ants, and small mammals in a 50 acre plot of land in southern Arizona. The need for long-term studies in ecology is critical to understanding how natural systems will respond to many aspects of global change. While long-term studies have become more common, the vast majority of studies greater than 50 years are not the result of direct observation and even those that are do not include experimental manipulations, one of the central tools of the scientific process. This means we continue to have little or no idea what the long-term responses of ecosystems may be to perturbations such as global warming, invasive species, and habitat change. The Portal Project now includes over 30 years of data on the impacts of the experimental removal of a suite of dominant species something that is likely to occur in many areas in response to changes in climate and habitat. This research has resulted in critical scientific insights into the impacts of changes in climate, habitat shifts, and invasive species on ecological communities and has produced well over 100 scientific publications. Unfortunately maintaining continual funding for long-term research is incredibly difficult. This is even more challenging in these tough economic times where the success rates of proposals at major funding agencies are <10%. As a result The Portal Project is running out of money. Since we believe strongly in the unique importance of this site for understanding critical ecological questions, we are preparing to maintain at least a portion of the current research effort without federal funding. Please explore our main website to learn more about this important study, what we've been doing, and what we've learned. Then see if you can do something to help. We'll be providing some specific options here shortly, but if your interested now you can let us know here.