Allen Collins
@agcollins.bsky.social
Appreciator of comb jellies, medusan jellies, medusan polyps, medusan other stages, sponges (particularly the glass ones). I speak for myself.
It isn’t World Jellyfish Day, but any day is a good day to share images of jellies!
Happy #worldjellyfishday, everyone 🪼🪼🪼!
Jellyfish (and their blooms) are a fundamental part of marine ecosystems, significantly contributing to carbon transport and storage. An ocean without jellyfish would not be a healthy ocean.
@universitetsmuseet.bsky.social @unibergen.bsky.social
Jellyfish (and their blooms) are a fundamental part of marine ecosystems, significantly contributing to carbon transport and storage. An ocean without jellyfish would not be a healthy ocean.
@universitetsmuseet.bsky.social @unibergen.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 12:45 PM
It isn’t World Jellyfish Day, but any day is a good day to share images of jellies!
I for one will be extremely happy to peruse an illustrated guide to microscopic organisms documented through expansion microscopy. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
This past year I reviewed an MS using this technique and was very impressed by this new technique. #MarineLife
This past year I reviewed an MS using this technique and was very impressed by this new technique. #MarineLife
A new microscopy breakthrough is revealing the oceans’ invisible life
A pandemic-era breakthrough has allowed scientists to literally expand our view of plankton. By using ultrastructure expansion microscopy, researchers visualized the inner workings of hundreds of mari...
www.sciencedaily.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:14 PM
I for one will be extremely happy to peruse an illustrated guide to microscopic organisms documented through expansion microscopy. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
This past year I reviewed an MS using this technique and was very impressed by this new technique. #MarineLife
This past year I reviewed an MS using this technique and was very impressed by this new technique. #MarineLife
I suppose it is natural to have the comparison point by “human” in discussing the earliest divergence with metazoans. Consider the source! That aside, another marker post in the Porifera-or-Ctenophora first (divergence) is fun to see. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Sponging away phylogenomic incongruence
Genes with strong and consistent signals favor sponges as humans’ most distant animal relatives
www.science.org
November 19, 2025 at 12:52 PM
I suppose it is natural to have the comparison point by “human” in discussing the earliest divergence with metazoans. Consider the source! That aside, another marker post in the Porifera-or-Ctenophora first (divergence) is fun to see. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This work on benthic ctenophore systematics (creation of Benthoplanidae) sets up a few planned works, focused on the systematics and evolution of shallow and deep water groups. www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=...
November 13, 2025 at 1:29 PM
This work on benthic ctenophore systematics (creation of Benthoplanidae) sets up a few planned works, focused on the systematics and evolution of shallow and deep water groups. www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=...
As part of his dissertation, @beziostudio.bsky.social leads a recent paper on benthic ctenophores. New family established based on anatomical observations, mitochondrial genome structure, and sequence data. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Benthoplanidae, a new family of benthic ctenophores (Platyctenida), based on morphological and genetic data
The benthic ctenophore Benthoplana meteoris (adults left and bottom, planktonic juveniles to the top right), type species for the genus, which in turn is type for the newly erected family: Benthoplan....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:45 AM
As part of his dissertation, @beziostudio.bsky.social leads a recent paper on benthic ctenophores. New family established based on anatomical observations, mitochondrial genome structure, and sequence data. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Very proud of my former student and longtime collaborator and friend Cheryl Lewis Ames. www.tohoku.ac.jp/romance/en/0...
An Ocean of Possibilities - The Romance of Research - TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
There’s no hierarchy in my lab. If you need to learn something, you just find the person who knows how to do it best.” - Cheryl Ames - Professor, WPI-AIMEC & Graduate School of Agricultural Science, T...
www.tohoku.ac.jp
October 2, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Very proud of my former student and longtime collaborator and friend Cheryl Lewis Ames. www.tohoku.ac.jp/romance/en/0...
NOAA #OceanExploration created a nice write up of research led by Javier Montenegro on the jellyfish Botrynema. oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/news/jellyfi... Demonstrating the value of exploring and collecting for understanding #MarineLife
Jellyfish Found by Team Aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Shatters Range Assumptions - NOAA Ocean Exploration
oceanexplorer.noaa.gov
September 23, 2025 at 1:03 PM
NOAA #OceanExploration created a nice write up of research led by Javier Montenegro on the jellyfish Botrynema. oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/news/jellyfi... Demonstrating the value of exploring and collecting for understanding #MarineLife
"I know faces, because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves, and behold the reality beneath." --Kahlil Gilbran
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zK5...
#MarineLife #SciArt
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zK5...
#MarineLife #SciArt
Deep Dive: Face Value
YouTube video by Global Foundation For Ocean Exploration
www.youtube.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:48 PM
"I know faces, because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves, and behold the reality beneath." --Kahlil Gilbran
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zK5...
#MarineLife #SciArt
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zK5...
#MarineLife #SciArt
Great write up on how NOAA and Smithsonian scientists work together to build resources supporting marine research.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
NOAA Fisheries Partners with Smithsonian to Archive Marine Specimens for Genetic Research
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center partnered with the Smithsonian Institution to preserve fish and squid specimens that will expand the genetic reference libraries needed for ongoing and future ...
www.fisheries.noaa.gov
September 18, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Great write up on how NOAA and Smithsonian scientists work together to build resources supporting marine research.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor...
Reposted by Allen Collins
This is great - we a huge need in the #eDNA community to have data-informed standards for eDNA identity cutoffs, not just the bog-standard 97%
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
For Chordata there is no cutoff that leads to 0% error when assigning species!! (Table S4)
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
For Chordata there is no cutoff that leads to 0% error when assigning species!! (Table S4)
Taxon‐specific BLAST percent identity thresholds for identification of unknown sequences using metabarcoding
The identification of organisms in environmental samples using metabarcoding relies on factors such as taxonomic assignment methods, genetic markers, reference databases and confidence thresholds ...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 29, 2025 at 6:50 AM
This is great - we a huge need in the #eDNA community to have data-informed standards for eDNA identity cutoffs, not just the bog-standard 97%
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
For Chordata there is no cutoff that leads to 0% error when assigning species!! (Table S4)
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
For Chordata there is no cutoff that leads to 0% error when assigning species!! (Table S4)
Reposted by Allen Collins
🗣NEW PAPER: Taxon‐specific BLAST percent identity thresholds for identification of unknown sequences using metabarcoding - Pappalardo et al. - Methods in Ecology and Evolution - Wiley Online Library besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Taxon‐specific BLAST percent identity thresholds for identification of unknown sequences using metabarcoding
The identification of organisms in environmental samples using metabarcoding relies on factors such as taxonomic assignment methods, genetic markers, reference databases and confidence thresholds ...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 29, 2025 at 2:55 AM
🗣NEW PAPER: Taxon‐specific BLAST percent identity thresholds for identification of unknown sequences using metabarcoding - Pappalardo et al. - Methods in Ecology and Evolution - Wiley Online Library besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
I cannot wait to own a copy of this!!
Our science photo book The Radiant Sea is out Sept 2nd!!
30 years of research, 10 years of "we should", and a year of collating pix and writing.
Sönke and I show (mostly for the first time) images of how organisms produce, use, and interact with light in the sea. #bioluminescence #fluorescence 🦑🧪🌊
30 years of research, 10 years of "we should", and a year of collating pix and writing.
Sönke and I show (mostly for the first time) images of how organisms produce, use, and interact with light in the sea. #bioluminescence #fluorescence 🦑🧪🌊
August 28, 2025 at 11:01 PM
I cannot wait to own a copy of this!!
nautiluslive.org Dive going on at this moment.
Predatory tunicate.
Predatory tunicate.
August 6, 2025 at 2:02 PM
nautiluslive.org Dive going on at this moment.
Predatory tunicate.
Predatory tunicate.
... shifts in biodiversity from mesopelagic to bathyal depths, which will inevitably cause redistribution of ecosystem functions and services ....climate change impacts at the ecosystem level are not restricted to shallow depths..." Rakka, Metaxas & Nizinski onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Climate Change Drives Bathymetric Shifts in Taxonomic and Trait Diversity of Deep‐Sea Benthic Communities
This study uses modeling techniques to predict the characteristics of deep-water coral communities under climate scenarios. It reveals that climate change will drive shifts of many deep-water corals ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
... shifts in biodiversity from mesopelagic to bathyal depths, which will inevitably cause redistribution of ecosystem functions and services ....climate change impacts at the ecosystem level are not restricted to shallow depths..." Rakka, Metaxas & Nizinski onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Allen Collins
Record your sightings! ⭐📋
Citizen science is a huge part of marine conservation and one of the most fun ways of helping our seabeds. Whether you’re out snorkelling or rock pooling, you can record your findings by submitting them to the iNaturalist app.
#NationalMarineWeek
Citizen science is a huge part of marine conservation and one of the most fun ways of helping our seabeds. Whether you’re out snorkelling or rock pooling, you can record your findings by submitting them to the iNaturalist app.
#NationalMarineWeek
August 6, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Record your sightings! ⭐📋
Citizen science is a huge part of marine conservation and one of the most fun ways of helping our seabeds. Whether you’re out snorkelling or rock pooling, you can record your findings by submitting them to the iNaturalist app.
#NationalMarineWeek
Citizen science is a huge part of marine conservation and one of the most fun ways of helping our seabeds. Whether you’re out snorkelling or rock pooling, you can record your findings by submitting them to the iNaturalist app.
#NationalMarineWeek
This is the best write up of the recent observation of a species of stalked medusa that hadn’t been seen in 50 years. www.britishwildlife.com/lost-and-fou... Some of the press is reporting this with the narrative “rediscovery of an extinct species”, which is not the case. It is positive news though.
Lost and found: the mystery of Depastrum cyathiforme - British Wildlife
Lost and found: the mystery of Depastrum cyathiforme The first photographs of the stalked jellyfish Depastrum cyathiforme, taken at Pollachar, South Uist, in June 2023. © Neil Roberts In June 2023, na...
www.britishwildlife.com
August 5, 2025 at 12:31 PM
This is the best write up of the recent observation of a species of stalked medusa that hadn’t been seen in 50 years. www.britishwildlife.com/lost-and-fou... Some of the press is reporting this with the narrative “rediscovery of an extinct species”, which is not the case. It is positive news though.
Check out this gorgeous video of some spectacular #MarineLife, posted via IG. Halicytus salpinx, we thinks… www.instagram.com/reel/DM8VuGR...
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www.instagram.com
August 5, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Check out this gorgeous video of some spectacular #MarineLife, posted via IG. Halicytus salpinx, we thinks… www.instagram.com/reel/DM8VuGR...
JellyCamp2025. Coming up in October, hosted at Mystic Aquarium!! www.maritimeaquarium.org/jelly-camp-2...
Jelly Camp 2025
www.maritimeaquarium.org
August 1, 2025 at 8:12 PM
JellyCamp2025. Coming up in October, hosted at Mystic Aquarium!! www.maritimeaquarium.org/jelly-camp-2...
This is great work!!
Excited to share our study on sailing siphonophores, AKA bluebottles or man-o'-war! 🌊 we received hundreds of samples from scientists around the world, part of a huge effort to sequence genomes and test for multiple species 🧬 out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... 🦑🧪📌
June 21, 2025 at 10:14 AM
This is great work!!
Our latest collaborative paper, led by NMNH intern Annemarie Wood, reports on a new tool for understanding ctenophore and medusozoan diversity. "Anthozoan eDNA primer set characterizes Ctenophora and Medusozoa ..." Characterizing #MarineLife
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...
May 9, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Our latest collaborative paper, led by NMNH intern Annemarie Wood, reports on a new tool for understanding ctenophore and medusozoan diversity. "Anthozoan eDNA primer set characterizes Ctenophora and Medusozoa ..." Characterizing #MarineLife
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...
Reposted by Allen Collins
🌳 Nature visits can improve wellbeing
A study of 3,500 residents in Tokyo & Osaka finds both visiting nature and feeling connected to it linked to better health – especially in deprived, urban areas.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#Nature #Wellbeing #SciComm 🧪
A study of 3,500 residents in Tokyo & Osaka finds both visiting nature and feeling connected to it linked to better health – especially in deprived, urban areas.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#Nature #Wellbeing #SciComm 🧪
Association between objective and subjective relatedness to nature and human well-being: Key factors for residents and possible measures for inequality in Japan’s megacities
Enhancing human well-being based on relatedness to nature requires a clear understanding of the associations between nature relatedness and well-being…
www.sciencedirect.com
May 9, 2025 at 12:43 PM
🌳 Nature visits can improve wellbeing
A study of 3,500 residents in Tokyo & Osaka finds both visiting nature and feeling connected to it linked to better health – especially in deprived, urban areas.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#Nature #Wellbeing #SciComm 🧪
A study of 3,500 residents in Tokyo & Osaka finds both visiting nature and feeling connected to it linked to better health – especially in deprived, urban areas.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#Nature #Wellbeing #SciComm 🧪
Reposted by Allen Collins
10-week graduate STUDENT FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History! See more info at : www.facebook.com/SIInvertebra... OR download info here
April 7, 2025 at 10:05 PM
10-week graduate STUDENT FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History! See more info at : www.facebook.com/SIInvertebra... OR download info here
Reposted by Allen Collins
The twin ships that will succeed #Okeanos Explorer! Discoverer and Oceanographer! www.omao.noaa.gov/omao/news-me...
April 8, 2025 at 7:03 PM
The twin ships that will succeed #Okeanos Explorer! Discoverer and Oceanographer! www.omao.noaa.gov/omao/news-me...
Pink awesomeness!
I got up close with a Portuguese man-o-war and my god these animals are shockingly beautiful.
April 2, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Pink awesomeness!
Reposted by Allen Collins
Our paper on the developmental ontology of salp colonial architecture made the cover of The Biological Bulletin! @BiolBulletin With my photo of a developing Pegea chain! @SutherlandLab https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/731540
March 31, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Our paper on the developmental ontology of salp colonial architecture made the cover of The Biological Bulletin! @BiolBulletin With my photo of a developing Pegea chain! @SutherlandLab https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/731540