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From a crisis to an opportunity: Eight insights for doing science in the Covid-19 era and beyond
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  • Julia Chacón Labella ,
  • Mickey Boakye,
  • Brian Enquist,
  • William Farfan-Rios,
  • Ragnhild Gya,
  • Aud Halbritter,
  • Sara Middleton,
  • Jonathan von Oppen,
  • Samuel Pastor-Ploskonka,
  • Tanya Strydom,
  • Vigdis Vandvik,
  • Sonya Geange
Julia Chacón Labella
University of Arizona

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Mickey Boakye
University of California Berkeley
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Brian Enquist
University of Arizona, USA
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William Farfan-Rios
Washington University in Saint Louis
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Ragnhild Gya
University of Bergen
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Aud Halbritter
University of Bergen
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Sara Middleton
University of Oxford
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Jonathan von Oppen
Aarhus University
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Samuel Pastor-Ploskonka
Universidad Mayor de San Andrés
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Tanya Strydom
Stockholm University Faculty of Natural Sciences
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Vigdis Vandvik
University of Bergen
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Sonya Geange
University of Bergen
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Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has forced researchers in Ecology to change the way we work almost overnight. Nonetheless, the pandemic has provided us with several novel components for a new way of conducting international Science. In this perspective piece, we summarize eight central insights that are helping us, as early career researchers, navigate the uncertainties, fears and challenges of advancing Science during the COVID-19 pandemic. We highlight how innovative, collaborative and often Open Science-driven developments that have arisen from this crisis can form a blueprint for a community reinvention in academia. Our insights include personal approaches to managing our new reality, maintaining capacity to focus and resilience in our projects, and a variety of tools that facilitate remote collaboration. We also highlight how, at a community level, we can take advantage of online communication platforms for gaining accessibility to conferences and meetings, and for maintaining research networks and community engagement while promoting a more diverse and inclusive community. Overall, we are confident that these practices can support a more inclusive and kinder scientific culture for the longer term.
24 Jul 2020Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
25 Jul 2020Assigned to Editor
25 Jul 2020Submission Checks Completed
28 Jul 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
22 Aug 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
17 Oct 2020Editorial Decision: Accept