Note from Jeremy: Recently we invited new guest posts on doing ecology around the world, to build on a series of guest posts we ran a few years ago. It’s a great series, you should totally go back and read the previous posts in the series, as well as the new ones. Here’s the first post in the new batch. It’s by Syuan-Jyun Sun, Assistant Professor in the International Degree Program in Climate Change and Sustainable Development at National Taiwan University. Thank you Sun!
If you would like to write a guest post in this series, please email me (jefox@ucalgary.ca).
Taiwan: a biodiversity hotspot
Taiwan, located at the intersection of the East and South China Seas, is a biodiverse paradise. The island boasts a rich variety of ecosystems, from tropical forests to high-altitude alpine meadows, supporting an incredible array of species. To put it into perspective, Taiwan is home to more than 60,000 described species, yet it occupies only 0.024% of the world’s land area. This biodiversity is not only fascinating but also crucial for ecological research and conservation efforts. There are ample evidence and sources for the biodiversity and ecosystems in Taiwan, on which I shall not focus too much in this post, but instead, on aspects that I would hope others to realize about doing ecology in Taiwan, which is widely recognized as a developed country.
The shift in academic interests
There is a noticeable trend among students towards higher-paying fields like medicine and engineering. As Taiwan continues its journey from a developing to a developed country, the emphasis on high-paying professions has grown, leading to a decline in interest in life sciences and ecology, as well as many other fields of study. At the same time, the pushing force is likely because there are fewer job opportunities in doing ecology in Taiwan, with only a small handful of jobs such as environmental impact assessment company and public service. Despite these challenges, the importance of ecological research cannot be overstated, especially in an era of rapid environmental change. Urbanization and disconnection from nature make it imperative to understand and preserve our natural world, and hence, potentially driving young generation’s interests away from natural sciences. Luckily enough (or not), I was not one of them. I grew up in Hualien, a rural county in eastern Taiwan, filled with creatures and the beauties of nature since my childhood. These experiences drove me to be attracted to nature and thus pursued a career in the field of ecology and evolution.
A new chapter at IPCS, NTU
After obtaining my BSc in Plant Pathology and Microbiology and MSc in Entomology degrees in National Taiwan University (NTU), I went to the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge for my PhD, and later to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan. Prior to my journey studying abroad, I had always thought of returning to Taiwan one day and contributing to the academia locally. My dream came true – I began my position as an assistant professor from 2022 at NTU within the International Degree Program in Climate Change and Sustainable Development. My research focuses on climate change and species interactions, which I find fascinating enough to inspire students to pursue ecological research. Our work aims to understand how changing environments affect interactions between species, which is vital for predicting and mitigating the impacts of global climate change. Thus, I also expect our research to have broader interests since it links directly to climate change.
Challenges in funding and research
After coming back, I soon realized that conducting ecological research in Taiwan comes with its challenges. Ironically, the main challenge I think is not the difficulty of doing ecology per se, but rather, the associated logistics. Securing research grants is a significant hurdle, partly because Taiwanese government has allocated relatively lower funding to fundamental research over the past years. On average, only 7% of the overall research grants are dedicated to fundamental research in Taiwan, compared to 15% in the US and 18% in the UK. Funding bodies often prioritize high-tech fields like engineering over basic science disciplines such as ecology. Additionally, some of the funding is more likely to be granted for research fields that generate quick results and papers, which however is not always the case for ecological research. This bias towards technology-driven research makes it difficult for ecologists to secure the necessary resources for their studies. Furthermore, recent trends of granted funding have now becoming in favor of interdisciplinary studies, for example, combination of AI and ecology provides an advantage over the more traditional ecological research, which might have limited connection to using AI. Of course, these issues are not only confined to Taiwan but many other countries, yet they have become even more prevailed here.
Looking forward To conclude, while doing ecology in Taiwan presents unique challenges, it also offers unparalleled opportunities to explore and protect one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. By continuing to advocate for the importance of doing ecology (especially to the young) and striving for better and more reliable funding (for new faculty), we can inspire a new generation of ecologists to carry forward this essential work, which becomes increasingly more important in a rapidly changing world.