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Abstract
Long-term research and monitoring can provide important ecological insights and are
crucial for the improved management of ecosystems and natural resources. However,
many long-term research and monitoring programs are either ineffective or fail completely
owing to poor planning and/or lack of focus. Here we propose the paradigm of adaptive
monitoring, which aims to resolve many of the problems that have undermined previous
attempts to establish long-term research and monitoring. This paradigm is driven by
tractable questions, rigorous statistical design at the outset, a conceptual model
of the ecosystem or other entity being examined and a human need to know about ecosystem
change. An adaptive monitoring framework enables monitoring programs to evolve iteratively
as new information emerges and research questions change.