Large-scale monitoring endeavours generate a suite of informatics challenges ranging from data acquisition and handling to analysis and synthesis. In this complex space, there is a need to ensure meaningful communication between both human and machine agents which must be addressed early on in the design of a monitoring system in order to ensure accuracy and efficiency. Ontology offers a means to address this need and provide semantic clarity in service of a wide range of stakeholders (e.g. Pundt, 2002). This informal note aims to grant the reader some bearing on the nature and potential of ontology in information-rich monitoring environments. No attempt is made to present a complete overview of this field and this text should be considered nothing more than an invitation to delve deeper into the use of ontology in monitoring. Accessible reviews such as that by Madin et al. (2008) are excellent points to start further reading