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Collabo a i e p ojec s: Unleashing Ea ly Ca ee Scien is s´ Powe
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Pascal Bodme †*1,2, Ka in A e meye *3, Ada Pas o *4, Nú ia Ca alán*5
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* All au ho s con ibu ed equally o his wo k; Au ho o de was compu ed andomly
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1 Chemical Analy ics and Biogeochemis y, Leibniz-Ins i u e o F eshwa e Ecology and Inland
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Fishe ies, Be lin, Ge many
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2 Ins i u e o En i onmen al Sciences, Uni e si y o Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Ge many
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3 Wasse Clus e Lunz, 3293 Lunz am See, Aus ia
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4 Depa men o Bioscience, Aa hus Uni e si y, Aa hus, Denma k
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5 Ca alan Ins i u e o Wa e Resea ch (ICRA), Gi ona, Spain
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†Co espondence: [email p o ec ed] (P. Bodme ), @Bodme Pascal
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Keywo ds: ca ee de elopmen , collabo a ion, junio esea che , ne wo king, gende ,
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ansla ional ecology
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Manusc ip Click he e o download Manusc ip
Manusc ip _Bodme +A e meye +Pas o +Ca alan_ inal.DOCX
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Abs ac : Collabo a i e esea ch p ojec s exclusi ely a ge ed o ea ly ca ee esea che s (ECR)
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ha e been ini ia ed in Eu ope. So a , he i s wo collabo a i e p ojec s ha e uni ed a ound 80
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ECR. He e, we desc ibe he bene i s o such ini ia i es o he ECR and highligh he posi i e
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impac s o he whole scien i ic communi y.
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Global en i onmen al and ecological ques ions need o be unde aken h ough he
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collec i e e o s o esea che s a di e en geog aphical loca ions. Collabo a i e, dis ibu ed
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p ojec s a e powe ul ools wi h a wide ange o posi i e implica ions including os e ing
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excellen science, gene a ing ne wo king oppo uni ies, and es ablishing ecogni ion among
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esea che s. On one hand, communi ies and ne wo ks o ea ly ca ee esea che s (ECR) boos
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ca ee de elopmen and a e a ubiqui ous ecommenda ion ac oss unding agencies (see e.g. EU-
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H2020 Ad iso y G oup o Excellence). Howe e , i is a e ha such ne wo ks e ol e in o g oups
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ha sol e scien i ic ques ions. The e ec i e in ol emen o ECR in egula collabo a i e p ojec s
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is essen ial o he de elopmen o hei ca ee s, howe e , i o en poses majo challenges [1].
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In ecen yea s, he Ibe ian Associa ion o Limnology (AIL
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) and he Eu opean Fede a ion o
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F eshwa e Sciences (EFFS
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) ha e ini ia ed pionee calls o collabo a i e p ojec s exclusi ely
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managed and conduc ed by ECR[2–4]. The aim o hose p ojec s was no only o boos
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inno a i e science[5] bu also o p o ide pee -collabo a ion pla o ms among scien is s a he
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beginning o hei ca ee s. In pa icula , he equi emen s o he esea ch p ojec s, as
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o mula ed in he calls, we e o i) conduc o iginal esea ch on any aspec o he ecology o
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h ps://www.limne ica.com/
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h p://www. eshwa e sciences.eu
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inland wa e s using inexpensi e and simple me hodology, and ii) p omo e ne wo king among
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Eu opean ECR. He e, we aim o desc ibe how hese ini ia i es ha e been a icula ed om
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ins i u ional o mul ina ional scales and hei bene i s o ECR and hei ne wo ks, as well as o
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highligh he posi i e impac o he scien i ic communi y.
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Scien i ic ques ion – Scien i ic associa ions ac oss disciplines (e.g. EGU, AGU, ASLO) o en
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include ini ia i es o he de elopmen o ECR, bu hese communi ies lack a de ined ool o
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in eg a e ca ee de elopmen wi h he ad ancemen o scien i ic ques ions. Collabo a i e,
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dis ibu ed p ojec s (Box 1) o e he oppo uni y o answe la ge-scale esea ch ques ions using
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inno a i e app oaches and a s uc u e ha pe ec ly i s wi h an ECR ne wo k. The dis ibu ion
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o eams ac oss di e en ins i u ions and coun ies allows a b oad spa ial co e age, which is
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essen ial o un a eling global en i onmen al conund ums. This goes beyond he limi s o
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indi idual p ojec s, as esul s can po en ially be expanded o o he en i onmen s and p o ide a
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mo e gene alized pic u e[6]. Collabo a i e p ojec s led by ECR p o ide an in e media e be ween
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“common” scien i ic p ojec s led by senio esea che s wi h esea ch g an s and ci izen science
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p ojec s, whe e people wi h no scien i ic unding o backg ound a e in ol ed[7]. F om he 82
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esea che s pa icipa ing in he pionee p ojec s, 60% we e Ph.D. s uden s, 16% sho - e m
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pos docs (i.e. <2 yea s a e Ph.D. comple ion) and he emaining 24% we e a mix o long- e m
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pos docs, enu e ack posi ions, and mas e s uden s. Fu he mo e, due o he ac ha hese
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p ojec s b ing oge he un- unded ECR wi h di e se scien i ic backg ounds, he de elopmen o
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low-cos , simple, s anda dized p o ocols is essen ial. These de eloped p o ocols a e
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subsequen ly a ailable no only o he scien i ic communi y bu can also be use ul o u u e
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ci izen science p ojec s.
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Ne wo king – The wo collabo a i e ECR p ojec s ha ha e been comple ed o da e a e
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he DOMIPEX
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and he Eu oRun
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p ojec s (Box 1). Two mo e p ojec s a e cu en ly ongoing
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(U ban Algae
and AGRHYDROM
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). All o hem a e in eshwa e sciences. Combined, he wo
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comple ed p ojec s in ol ed 28 eams, 32 ins i u ions, and 82 esea che s om 12 Eu opean
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coun ies. The p ojec s co e ed a wide geog aphical a ea wi h a ela i ely small budge (Box 1).
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The oppo uni y o in i ing a g ea numbe o ECR o con ibu e compensa ed o he educed
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economic budge o he p ojec s. The ne wo king among young pee s ook place a he mic o
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(i.e. local o egional) and he mac o (i.e. con inen al) spa ial scales (Fig. 1A). Teams o se e al
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ECR o spa ially close ins i u ions join ly execu ed he expe imen al wo k in one geog aphical
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place, o e ing a g ea oppo uni y o mic o-ne wo king. Subsequen ly, as pa o he la ge
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collabo a i e p ojec , hese eams in e ac ed wi h he o he eams si ua ed in o he
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geog aphical a eas, which expanded he mic o-ne wo king o mac o-ne wo king oppo uni ies.
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Ca ee de elopmen –ECR a e especially aced wi h he “publish o pe ish” p essu e and
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skills such as communica ion, idea de elopmen , p ojec managemen , and unding acquisi ion
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a e o en neglec ed in he o ma i e s ages o a scien i ic ca ee . Collabo a i e p ojec s a ge ed
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a ECR help o de elop hese neglec ed skills. Ea ly achie emen s in a scien i ic ca ee a e likely
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o inc ease u u e esea ch success [8]. Consequen ly, he mo e oppo uni ies o unding and
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pa icipa ion in collabo a i e e o s o e ed o ECR, he mo e likely ha hey collec posi i e
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expe iences wi h unding acquisi ion, p omo e hei esea ch and con inue a ca ee in science.
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h ps://www. esea chga e.ne /p ojec /DOMIPEX-Ca bon-up ake-in-headwa e -s eams- he- i s -collabo a i e-
expe imen -among-young- esea che s
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h ps:// eshp ojec -eu o un.jimdo.com/eu o un/p ojec -eu o un/
h ps:// eshp ojec -u banalgae.jimdo.com/ eams/
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h ps://www. esea chga e.ne /p ojec /A- imely-look-a -e ec s-o -ag icul u e-on- lu ial-dissol ed-o ganic-
ma e - he- ole-o -hyd ology-AGRHYDROM
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The numbe o au ho s and ins i u ions in pape s has been s eadily inc easing in he las
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decades[9]. Since an ea ly s age, scien is s a e con on ed wi h e hical challenges linked o
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ex ended eams, such as co-au ho ship[10] and da a managemen [11]. Mul iple ools a e
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a ailable a p esen o es ablish da a managemen plans (e.g. h ps://dmp ool.o g/) and
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au ho ship a ibu ion (e.g. CRediT sys em) a he ini ial s ages o a p ojec [12]. The
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pa icipa ion in collabo a i e p ojec s exposes he ECR o hese e hical aspec s ea ly on and
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allows hem he oppo uni y o add ess hese among hemsel es.
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Beyond he academic domain, coping wi h en i onmen al challenges equi es
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pa ne ships among scien is s wi h di e se backg ounds. T ansla ional ecology is an app oach
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ha ocuses on imp o ing he connec ion be ween s akeholde s and en i onmen al scien is s,
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o example by allowing o cons an communica ion be ween he g oups. T ansla ional ecology
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equi es s ong collabo a i e and communica i e skills, which is no ypically included in
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adi ional g adua e aining p og ams[13]. Collabo a i e p ojec s a ge ed o ECR os e he
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de elopmen o coope a i e skills such as adap i e expe ien ial lea ning, communica ion,
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leade ship, and con lic esolu ion. We belie e his can also lead o inno a i e solu ions in eam
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o ganiza ion and ask managemen . Collabo a i e p ojec s o ECRs should hus be pe cei ed
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also as ools o nu u e p o essional ca ee de elopmen also ou side academia
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Gende balance as an example o inclusi e science– The eams wi hin hese wo
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collabo a i e p ojec s we e ei he gende -balanced o had a highe p opo ion o emale
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scien is s (33 male and 49 emale in o al; Fig. 1B). This e lec s he gende a io exis ing among
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esea che s in he ea ly s ages o hei scien i ic ca ee s, ha becomes unbalanced a la e
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s ages[14]. The combina ion o his ac wi h he enhanced independence, ne wo king and
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ca ee de elopmen oppo uni ies p o ided by hese collabo a i e p ojec s migh os e a mo e
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di e se scien i ic communi y, enhancing scien i ic quali y, and suppo ing scien i ic ca ee s[15].
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Figu e 1. Geog aphical dis ibu ion o in ol ed ins i u ions in he wo pionee ea ly ca ee
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collabo a i e p ojec s ( he colo s co espond o indi idual eams) (A), and he gende
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dis ibu ion o hese wo p ojec s (yellow: emale, g een: male) (B).
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Collabo a i e p ojec s among ECR o e many bene icial aspec s ha boos esea che s’
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ca ee s in he ea ly s ages. These pionee ini ia i es ha e al eady had a s ong impac on he
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ela ionships be ween he young scien is s o he socie ies ha launched he call and a e likely
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o change he Eu opean aqua ic sciences communi y s uc u e in he medium o long e m.
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Such expe iences lead o s onge collabo a ion and ne wo king oppo uni ies among scien is s
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h oughou hei ca ee s, which will subsequen ly inc ease scien i ic quali y. We call on senio
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scien is s supe ising ECR o suppo such ini ia i es by gi ing hei s uden s he oppo uni y
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and eedom o pa icipa e in collabo a i e p ojec s. Mo e calls designed o ECR in a ious
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scien i ic disciplines will os e a g ea e ne wo king capaci y and a mo e di e se and in eg a i e
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u u e o he scien i ic communi y.
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A
B
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Box 1. S uc u e o DOMIPEX and Eu oRun and he pa icipan s’ pe spec i e
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The DOMIPEX and Eu oRun p ojec s we e composed o 2-7 membe eams geog aphically
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dis ibu ed ac oss Eu ope. Fo DOMIPEX, a mee ing opened o all pa icipan s and membe s o
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he associa ion o p esen and discuss he d a p o ocol was o ganized du ing he AIL
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con e ence. Fo Eu oRun, eam ep esen a i es joined a wo kshop, which aimed a building he
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measu ing equipmen , aining in he ield me hods, and eaching basic da a analyses. Fo bo h
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p ojec s, an ex ensi e ield guide was de eloped. Teams p e-p ocessed he da a collec ed and
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p ojec coo dina o s we e in cha ge o o e all da a quali y con ol. Communica ion was mainly
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conduc ed ia g oup emails. In he case o Eu oRun, he eam ep esen a i es we e con ac ed
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and hey, in u n, in o med hei espec i e eam membe s. Howe e , o he u gen in o ma ion
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channels such as elephone (e.g. ques ions du ing ield wo k) we e also used.
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Acco ding o he pa icipan s, he main highligh s we e lea ning new concep s and me hods as
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well as ne wo k de elopmen (Fig. IA). The in e ac ion among eams as well as cons ain s in
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p ojec design ( o Eu oRun) we e iden i ied as he majo challenges (Fig. IB). Fu he
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communica ion o ma s, such as online mee ings, and a mo e ho izon al sha e o p ojec asks
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(inc easing indi idual in ol emen ) should be implemen ed wi hou inc easing budge cos s.
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Pa icipan s also sugges ed ha p ojec design should mo e owa ds ideas whe e
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me hodological ools do no limi he numbe o pa icipan s.
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Figu e I. Resul s o a su ey o he pa icipan s (mul iple answe s we e possible) pe o med a
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he end o he collabo a i e p ojec s DOMIPEX (blue) and Eu oRun ( ed) showing he highligh s
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(A; 130 answe s by 71 pa icipan s) and challenges (B; 74 answe s by 64 pa icipan s). No e he
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di e en scales o highligh s and challenges.
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Acknowledgmen s
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We hank he Ibe ian Associa ion o Limnology (AIL) and he Eu opean Fede a ion o
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F eshwa e Sciences (EFFS) o ini ia ing he p ojec s. We u he acknowledge he con ibu ions
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o all pa icipan s o he wo collabo a i e p ojec s DOMIPEX and Eu oRun and Lau a E. Coulson
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o language edi ing.
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