PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #43: Restoration Philosophy and Ethics.
Wednesday, August 7. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

The ethical challenges of research in restoration ecology.

Vidra, Rebecca^*,1, ¹ North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

ABSTRACT- As the discipline of restoration ecology has matured, the ethics of attempting restoration of natural systems have been vigorously debated both within the discipline and in the context of larger questions of environmental ethics. While this debate has encouraged scientists and practitioners alike to reconsider their approach to the creation of ecosystems, it has not yet addressed the ethics of research in this field. Because restoration ecology is uniquely poised at the crossroads of basic and applied science, it is critically important to identify and discuss the ethical challenges that researchers face. As professional organizations and funding agencies emphasize the importance of ethics, the study of research ethics is emerging as an essential element of graduate education. Through my participation in the NSF Research Ethics Fellows program, I have the opportunity to consider the ethics of conducting research in restoration. The objectives of this presentation are to suggest potential ethical challenges faced by researchers in restoration ecology and to stimulate discussion of these issues across the discipline. Ethical decisions with regards to prioritization of research objectives, the design of restoration experiments, and dissemination of results will be highlighted. Further discussion of ethical challenges with restoration researchers will lead to suggestions for a professional code of ethics. By adopting such a code, we can not only recognize these challenges but resolve to do good, relevant science in spite of them.

KEY WORDS: research ethics, restoration ecology