Geology topics

Sydne Record

Publications and source records attributed to Sydne Record.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2025

STREAMS guidelines: Standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies

The interdisciplinary nature of microbiome research, coupled with the generation of complex multi-omics data, makes knowledge sharing challenging. The Strengthening the Organization and Reporting of Microbiome Studies (STORMS) guidelines provide a checklist for the reporting of study information, experimental design and analytical methods within a scientific manuscript on human microbiome research. Here, in this Consensus Statement, we present the standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies (STREAMS) guidelines. The guidelines expand on STORMS and include 67 items to support the reporting and review of environmental (for example, terrestrial, aquatic, atmospheric and engineered), synthetic and non-human host-associated microbiome studies in a standardized and machine-actionable manner. Based on input from 248 researchers spanning 28 countries, we provide detailed guidance, including comparisons with STORMS, and case studies that demonstrate the usage of the STREAMS guidelines. STREAMS, like STORMS, will be a living community resource updated by the Consortium with consensus-building input of the broader community.

Nature Microbiology↗

USGS2025

The story of the Penobscot River Ecology Mural: A 10-step process for scientists to create public art

Rivers are home to a wide variety of biota, including fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, freshwater mussels, aquatic insects, and microscopic organisms that fill unique niches to support broader ecosystem functions. While the general public may be aware of recreationally relevant biological life (e.g., fishes and insects to model flyfishing flies from), they may not be aware of more obscure yet important taxa. For example, freshwater mussels (Unionidae) improve water quality and clarity of rivers through filtration ( Vaughn, 2018), which is vital to riverine ecosystems. Despite this importance, lack of public knowledge about freshwater mussels is the second biggest challenge to their management ( Bouska et al., 2018). How do we best get the public to see value in underappreciated taxa to support their conservation? Public art installations can spread awareness about science effectively because they distill information for broader audiences, are eye-catching, and reach people through an emotional, aesthetic, and personal lens ( Thompson et al., 2023). While invertebrates are generally viewed by the public with fear and aversion ( Kellert, 1993) this can be ameliorated through interaction and learning, particularly for children ( Miller et al., 2025). Through cross-disciplinary collaboration between artists, scientists and the local community, we created the “Penobscot River Ecology Mural,” a scientifically informed artwork featuring underappreciated taxa like mussels and insects. In this article, we will elucidate the story of how we successfully made this piece through 10 steps, which provide a blueprint for future endeavors.

Maine↗

USGS2025

Microbiome data management in action workshop: Atlanta, GA, USA, June 12–13, 2024

Microbiome research is revolutionizing human and environmental health, but the value and reuse of microbiome data are significantly hampered by the limited development and adoption of data standards. While several ongoing efforts are aimed at improving microbiome data management, significant gaps still remain in terms of defining and promoting adoption of consensus standards for these datasets. The Strengthening the Organization and Reporting of Microbiome Studies (STORMS) guidelines for human microbiome research have been endorsed and successfully utilized by many research organizations, publishers, and funding agencies, and have been recognized as a consensus community standard. No equivalent effort has occurred for environmental, synthetic, and non-human host-associated microbiomes. To address this growing need within the microbiome research community, we convened the Microbiome Data Management in Action Workshop (June 12–13, 2024, in Atlanta, GA, USA), to bring together key decision makers in microbiome science including researchers, publishers, funders, and data repositories. The 50 attendees, representing the diverse and interdisciplinary nature of microbiome research, discussed recent progress and challenges, and brainstormed actionable recommendations and paths forward for coordinated environmental microbiome data management and the modifications necessary for the STORMS guidelines to be applied to environmental, non-human host, and synthetic microbiomes. The outcomes of this workshop will form the basis of a formalized data management roadmap to be implemented across the field. These best practices will drive scientific innovation now and in years to come as these data continue to be used not only in targeted reanalyses but in large-scale models and machine learning efforts.

Environmental Microbiome↗

USGS2025

Museum records provide unique information about the distribution of the Yellow Lampmussel Lampsilis cariosa (Unionidae)

Natural history museum records may provide unique information on the distribution of species that can supplement survey data collected by resource managers. However, there can be challenges to using museum data for analyses, such as spurious geographic information, misidentifications, and incorrect labeling. Museum records have been centralized by open-source repositories with flags for coordinate precision and out-of-range specimens, providing some information about record uncertainty in general. Verification of uncertain museum records could increase confidence in distribution data and improve understanding of biodiversity patterns and range dynamics through time. The goal of this study was to determine if museum records provide unique information about the distribution of the Yellow Lampmussel Lampsilis cariosa (Say, 1817), an at-risk freshwater mussel species. We created a dichotomous key based on a hierarchy of conchological characteristics to verify the taxonomic identity of flagged L. cariosa specimens and assessed records occurring outside of the species’ expected range as compiled from primary literature. Fifty percent of flagged specimens were confirmed as L. cariosa . Of the invalid records, 56% were misidentifications, mainly of other Lampsilis species. Overall, museum collections (1800s–present) contributed 32 unique watersheds not represented by modern survey records (1980s–present, comprising 92 watersheds) including 13 unexpected watersheds in regions of New York and Vermont (USA) and Québec and Ontario (Canada). Our study provides a reproducible method for the reverification of freshwater mussel museum records and highlights how these records can provide unique contributions to our understanding of the geographic range of a rare, at-risk mussel species.

New York, Vermont↗

USGS2016

Novel and lost forests in the Upper Midwestern United States, from new estimates of settlement-era composition, stem density, and biomass

EuroAmerican land-use and its legacies have transformed forest structure and composition across the United States (US). More accurate reconstructions of historical states are critical to understanding the processes governing past, current, and future forest dynamics. Here we present new gridded (8x8km) reconstructions of pre-settlement (1800s) forest composition and structure from the upper Midwestern US (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and most of Michigan), using 19th Century Public Land Survey System (PLSS), with estimates of relative composition, above-ground biomass, stem density, and basal area for 28 tree types. This mapping is more robust than past efforts, using spatially varying correction factors to accommodate sampling design, azimuthal censoring, and biases in tree selection.

Michigan, Minnesota Wisconsin↗

USGS2014

Ecological role and services of tropical mangrove ecosystems: a reassessment

Aim To reassess the capacity of mangroves for ecosystem services in the light of recent data. Location Global mangrove ecosystems. Methods We review four long-standing roles of mangroves: (1) carbon dynamics – export or sink; (2) nursery role; (3) shoreline protection; (4) land-building capacity. The origins of pertinent hypotheses, current understanding and gaps in our knowledge are highlighted with reference to biogeographic, geographic and socio-economic influences. Results The role of mangroves as C sinks needs to be evaluated for a wide range of biogeographic regions and forest conditions. Mangrove C assimilation may be under-estimated because of flawed methodology and scanty data on key components of C dynamics. Peri-urban mangroves may be manipulated to provide local offsets for C emission. The nursery function of mangroves is not ubiquitous but varies with spatio-temporal accessibility. Connectivity and complementarity of mangroves and adjacent habitats enhance their nursery function through trophic relay and ontogenetic migrations. The effectiveness of mangroves for coastal protection depends on factors at landscape/geomorphic to community scales and local/species scales. Shifts in species due to climate change, forest degradation and loss of habitat connectivity may reduce the protective capacity of mangroves. Early views of mangroves as land builders (especially lateral expansion) were questionable. Evidence now indicates that mangroves, once established, directly influence vertical land development by enhancing sedimentation and/or by direct organic contributions to soil volume (peat formation) in some settings. Main conclusions Knowledge of thresholds, spatio-temporal scaling and variability due to geographic, biogeographic and socio-economic settings will improve the management of mangrove ecosystem services. Many drivers respond to global trends in climate change and local changes such as urbanization. While mangroves have traditionally been managed for subsistence, future governance models must involve partnerships between local custodians of mangroves and offsite beneficiaries of the services.

Global Ecology and Biogeography↗