Long-term ecological research in freshwaters enabled by regional biodiversity collections, stable isotope analysis, and environmental informatics.

Biodiversity collections are experiencing a renaissance fueled by the intersection of informatics, emerging technologies, and the extended use and interpretation of specimens and archived databases. In this article, we explore the potential for transformative research in ecology integrating biodiversity collections, stable isotope analysis (SIA), and environmental informatics. Like genomic DNA, SIA provides a common currency interpreted in the context of biogeochemical principles.

Multidimensional metrics of niche space for use with diverse analytical techniques.

Multidimensional data are integral to many community-ecological studies and come in various forms, such as stable isotopes, compound specific analyses (e.g., amino acids and fatty acids), and both biodiversity and life history traits.