Davies, N.,Field, D. J.,Gavaghan, D.,Holbrook, S. J.,Planes, S.,Troyer, M.,Bonsall, M.,Claudet, J.,Roderick, G.,Schmitt, R. J.,Zettler, L. A.,Berteaux, V.,Bossin, H. C.,Cabasse, C.,Collin, A.,Deck, J.,Dell, T.,Dunne, J.,Gates, R.,Harfoot, M.,Hench, J. L.,Hopuare, M.,Kirch, P.,Kotoulas, G.,Kosenkov, A.,Kusenko, A.,Leichter, J. J.,Lenihan, H.,Magoulas, A.,Martinez, N. D.,Meyer, C.,Stoll, B.,Swalla, B.,Tartakovsky, D. M.,Murphy, H. T.,Turyshev, S.,Valdvinos, F.,Williams, R.,Wood, S.
Systems biology promises to revolutionize medicine, yet human wellbeing is also inherently linked to healthy societies and environments (sustainability). The IDEA Consortium is a systems ecology open science initiative to conduct the basic scientific research needed to build use-oriented simulations (avatars) of entire social-ecological systems. Islands are the most scientifically tractable places for these studies and we begin with one of the best known: Moorea, French Polynesia. The Moorea IDEA will be a sustainability simulator modeling links and feedbacks between climate, environment, biodiversity, and human activities across a coupled marine-terrestrial landscape. As a model system, the resulting knowledge and tools will improve our ability to predict human and natural change on Moorea and elsewhere at scales relevant to management/conservation actions.