Environmental Science, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Paleontology, Agricultural and Biological Sciences
6
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Community guidelines to increase the reusability of marine microfossil assemblage data Lukas Jonkers, Tonke Strack, Montserrat Alonso-Garcia, Simon D'haenens, Robert Huber, Michal Kucera, Iván Hernández-Almeida, Chloe L. C. Jones, Brett Metcalfe, Rajeev Saraswat, Lóránd Silye, Sanjay K. Verma, Muhamad Naim Abd Malek, Gerald Auer, Cátia F. Barbosa, Maria A. Barcena, Karl-Heinz Baumann, Flavia Boscolo-Galazzo, Joeven Austine S. Calvelo, Lucilla Capotondi, Martina Caratelli, Jorge Cardich, Humberto Carvajal-Chitty, Markéta Chroustová, Helen K. Coxall, Renata M. de Mello, Anne de Vernal, Paula Diz, Kirsty M. Edgar, Helena L. Filipsson, Ángela Fraguas, Heather L. Furlong, Giacomo Galli, Natalia L. García Chapori, Robyn Granger, Jeroen Groeneveld, Adil Imam, Rebecca Jackson, David Lazarus, Julie Meilland, Marína Molčan Matejová, Raphael Morard, Caterina Morigi, Sven N. Nielsen, Diana Ochoa, Maria Rose Petrizzo, Andrés S. Rigual-Hernández, Marina C. Rillo, Matthew L. Staitis, Gamze Tanık, Raúl Tapia, Nishant Vats, Bridget S. Wade, Anna E. Weinmann Journal of Micropalaeontology, 2025 Data on marine microfossil assemblage composition have multiple applications. Initially, they were primarily used for (chrono)stratigraphy and palaeoecology, but these data are now also widely used to study evolutionary and ecological processes, such as past biodiversity and its links with environmental dynamics, or to provide a basis for conservation efforts and biomonitoring. The large range of potential applications renders microfossil abundance data ideal for reuse. However, the complexity inherent in taxonomic data, which encompass extant and extinct species, coupled with the inherent intricacies of information on biological communities extracted from sedimentary archives, poses considerable hurdles in reusing marine microfossil data, even when they are publicly available. Here, we present guidelines derived from an online survey conducted within the marine micropalaeontological community, aimed at improving the reusability of microfossil assemblage data. These guidelines advocate for clarity and transparency in the documentation of the methods and the outcome, and we outline the data attributes required for effective reuse of micropalaeontological data. These guidelines are intended for researchers who generate microfossil abundance datasets and for reviewers, editors, and data curators at repositories. A total of 113 researchers evaluated the relevance of about 50 data attributes that might be needed to enable and maximise the reuse of marine microfossil abundance datasets. Each property is ranked based on the survey results. All information is, in principle, considered “desired”. Information that improves the reusability is ranked as “recommended”, and information that is required for reuse is ranked as “essential”. Analysis of a selection of datasets available online reveals a rather large gap between data properties deemed essential by survey participants and what is actually contained in publicly available microfossil assemblage datasets. While the survey indicates that the micropalaeontological community values good data stewardship, improving data reusability still requires new efforts to incorporate all the essential information. The guidelines presented here are intended as a step in that direction. Determining the optimal forms and formats for data sharing are obvious next steps the community needs to take.
Intertidal zonation of live benthic foraminiferal assemblages from mangrove environments around south-west Penang Island, Peninsular Malaysia Muhamad Naim Abd Malek, Khairun Yahya, Anita Talib, Su Yean Teh, Latiffah Zakaria Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2023 Studies on benthic foraminifera were conducted in the mangrove forests of Teluk Tempoyak, Pulau Betong and Kuala Sungai Pinang, Penang Island, Peninsular Malaysia to examine species composition and distribution patterns in different intertidal zones. Twenty-eight live benthic foraminiferal species were successfully identified at the study locations, predominantly species with agglutinated tests. Assemblages in Pulau Betong and Teluk Tempoyak were dominated by similar species such as Ammonia aoteana, Elphidium hispidulum, Elphidium neosimplex and Trochammina inflata, while Kuala Sungai Pinang comprises a high number of Trochammina inflata and Arenoparrella mexicana. Three species, Aubignyna perlucida, Elphidium neosimplex and Elphidium sandiegoense, were recorded for the first time in Malaysian mangrove forests. Principal component analysis showed that sediment type and organic matter content were the dominant parameters that explained the variation of environmental gradient. Canonical correspondence analysis of these parameters with benthic foraminiferal species indicated that sand particles influenced distribution of the hyaline tests. Species with agglutinated tests were abundant in sediment with rich organic matter in combination with high silt and clay content. Species with hyaline tests dominated lower intertidal zones, while those with agglutinated tests inhabited the area from the middle to upper intertidal zones. This distribution pattern of benthic foraminiferal species mirrored patterns found at other local and global mangrove locations.
Distribution of recent benthic ostracoda in pahang river estuary, east coast peninsular Malaysia Malaysian Journal of Microscopy, 2014
The distribution of benthic foraminifera on selected marine sediments in pahang river estuary, Pahang, Malaysia: Identification using sem images Malaysian Journal of Microscopy, 2014
