8/
This is equally true in the #biotic environment (the “#biosphere”), consisting of microorganisms, plants, animals, and the human body; in #abiotic (lifeless) environments, such as the #geosphere, the #lithosphere, the #hydrosphere, and the #atmosphere; and in the entire #ecosphere, comprising ecosystems composed of biotic and abiotic elements in complex interrelationships. Such ecosystems, large and small, for all their components, also interact in intricate mutual relationships.

#ecology

Visitant – Rubidium Review

By Owlswald

No matter if you’re a seasoned band or new to the game, choosing the right pre-release track is critical when kicking off PR for a new album. And in a crowded music scene, where everyone is fighting to make their mark, the challenge is even greater: can you leave a lasting impression in the first few minutes to make me want to keep listening? Pensacola, Florida’s Visitant did just that with “Starless,” the first single from their debut album, Rubidium. Taylor Tidwell’s (Unaligned) blackened riffing, the death-infused rhythms of drummer Anthony Lusk-Simone (Abiotic) and bassist Kilian Duarte (Abiotic, Scale the Summit), and the tormented shrieks of vocalist Chelsea Marrow (Voraath) grabbed me immediately, leading me to promptly snag the full promo from the bone pile. Intended to be a departure from the members’ other projects, Rubidium offers a visceral and harrowing descent into a hellish, otherworldly state driven by profound loss and torment.

Visitant blends their tech-death roots with the classic symphonic black metal sound to craft Rubidium’s spiritual aura. The record’s haunting mood is immediately apparent on “Unworldly,” which opens with a sinister orchestral passage that quickly gives way to a vicious miasma of Marrow’s icy rasps, Lusk-Simone’s malevolent blasts and Tidwell’s eerie leads. The progression is reminiscent of early Cradle of Filth and gets the album off to a strong start. The performances on Rubidium are solid across the board, with Visitant skillfully blending technical precision with raw feel. The dynamic interplay between Tidwell’s guitar and Lusk-Simone’s drums create a stylish balance. The two frequently push and pull, creating a dialogue that feels synchronized but also spontaneous. Marrow—who has lent her vocal talents to video games like Doom Eternal and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II—contributes her versatility, conjuring vengeful spirits through an expressive séance of rasps and hoarse growls (“Fodder,” “Starless”), Gojira-encrusted hymns (“Rubidium,” “Briars”) and ethereal croons (“Moon Bathe,” “Envy’s Lament”). It’s evident she has great range, but her sparse use of her striking cleans is disappointing and could have been a game-changer for the group’s sound.

Rather than relying on the guitar to take center stage, Lusk-Simone’s technical drumming drives Visitant’s eldritch sound with powerful, forward-moving energy. His precision blasts, acrobatic fills and progressive rhythms imbue Rubidium with an aural restlessness, balancing Tidwell’s Opethian chords (“Rubidium,” “Unworldly”) and moody refrains. This creative reversal of a common metal paradigm—where guitars are the heart and soul—allows Lusk-Simone’s performance to shine. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the strongest three-song stretch—from “Starless” to “Fodder”—which are defined by Tidwell’s unnerving, bending milieus and proficient shredding that underpin Lusk-Simone’s explosive kit work. Noteworthy highlights include Lusk-Simone’s hard-hitting fills coupled with rapid-fire double bass and swing beats in “Fodder” or the title track’s memorable and heavy syncopated bridge where Lusk-Simone and Tidwell lock together perfectly before settling back into their respective roles.

But odd production choices unexpectedly hold back Rubidium’s strength. Despite Tidwell’s memorable and astute riffs, and a high DR score, the production often buries the guitars too far back in the mix. Consequently, this makes Tidwell’s playing feel muted and strips his guitar of its authority. I had to almost max out the mid-range EQ on my headphones to really hear Tidwell’s guitar work on tracks like “Briars” and “Otherworldly”—a frustrating outcome that’s impossible to overlook. At just thirty-two minutes, Rubidium also feels short, a feeling amplified by its closing instrumental, “Moon Bathe.” While the interlude has promising ideas and an interesting exotic flair, it’s over too quickly and feels underdeveloped.

Rubidium left me with a sense of anticipation rather than satisfaction, feeling less like a complete body of work and more like an intriguing blueprint for what’s to come. Still, when Visitant’s talents align—as they do on the album’s strongest tracks—the result is an unsettling and convincing blend of technicality and raw emotion. There’s no shortage of quality performances, and Rubidium has all the ingredients for a gripping album. By further refining their approach and leaning into their more bespoke qualities, Visitant is poised to deliver an album that builds on the considerable promise of this debut.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Exitus Stratagem Records
Websites: visitant1.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/visitantband
Releases Worldwide: August 22nd, 2025

#25 #2025 #Abiotic #AmericanMetalMetal #Aug25 #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #CradleOfFilth #DeathMetal #ExitusStratagemRecords #Gojira #Opeth #Review #Reviews #Rubidium #ScaleTheSummit #Unaligned #Visitant #Voraath

【💡High Cited 2020-2022 】
#NLimitation increases along a #TemperateForestSuccession: evidences from leaf stoichiometry and #NutrientResorption

Core:
1️⃣ N and P concentrations in green leaves and leaf litter for woody species different stages;
2️⃣ #Abiotic and #Biotic factors.

https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtac017

🍅Are you a stressed🍅#tomato?
Liu et🍅al. explore the🍅role of Group II WRKY🍅transcription factor SlWRKY42 in🍅response to saline-alkali stress🍅and reveal that overexpression🍅of the TF improves #abiotic🍅stress tolerance.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13839🍅
@wileyplantsci
#PlantSci🍅#JIPB #botany

Mapping Antarctica's Hidden Ice-Free Lands - A Blueprint For Conservation
--
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-antarctica-hidden-ice-free-blueprint.html <-- shared technical article
--
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04424-y <-- shared paper / spatial dataset
--
#GIS #spatial #inventory #mapping #Antarctic #ecosystems #wilderness #biodiversity #environmental #icefree #landcover #climatechange #humanimpacts #habitat #opendata #bioregional #abiotic #spatialmodel #biogeography #raster #model #modeling #spatialdata #futureproofing

The source of #paleozoic (hemi-) #pelagic calcareous #mud (before the rise modern pelagic calcifiers) has been bugging me, again, recently.
I have seen arguments for calcification of #cyanobacterial filaments, calcareous #dinoflagellates, breakdown of thin-walled fossils, and I'm not negating #abiotic sources.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the topic?

Introducing Don Ort, an Associate #Editor specialising in #photosynthesis, global change, FACE, #environmental and #abiotic stress 🌏

Villain...hero...both?
Enter the world of #ReactiveOxygenSpecies and their roles in #plant #growth, #development, and #abiotic stress responses in this #OpenAccess review from #JIPB!
https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13601
@wileyplantsci #PlantScience #metabolism #signaling #ROS #botany

#Abiotic #Factor - #Half-Life #Survival - #Livestream 2024-05-03

https://video.thepolarbear.co.uk/w/vyrb58Y8tPXbVJ7kYxokup

https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

Abiotic Factor is a survival #crafting experience for 1-6 players set in the depths of an underground #research facility. Caught between #paranormal containment failure, a #military crusade, and chaos from a dozen realms, the world’s greatest minds must survive against the universe’s biggest threats.

Meet JXB Associate Editor, Karl-Josef Dietz, specialising in
🌿 #Abiotic stress
🌿 Antioxidant
🌿 #Enzyme activity
🌿 #Gene regulation
🌿 #Metal toxicity
🌿 #Organelle #signalling
🌿 #Photosynthesis
🌿 #Protein translation
🌿 #Redox signalling
🌿 Vacuoles

#PlantScience

✨ Open Special Issue ✨

Plant Stress Physiology: Safeguarding Food Security in a Changing Climate

Edited by Adriano Nunes Nesi, Agustin Zsögön, and Wagner L. Araújo

We welcome contributions that address the molecular, biochemical, and physiological responses of #crop plants to #abiotic and #biotic stressors.

🗓️ Deadline 1st Nov 2024

📝 Meet our new editorial #intern, Tessa Reed, from Rothamsted Research. She is a mentee of Miriam Gifford and specialises in:

🌾 plant-#microbe interactions
🌾 plant growth-promoting #rhizobacteria
🌾 root-#soil interactions
🌾 #biotic and #abiotic stress
🌾 #wheat

Villain...hero...both? In today's #JIPB Invited Expert Review, Wang et al. take us into the world of #ReactiveOxygenSpecies and their roles in #plant #growth, #development & response to biotic and #abiotic stress. https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13601
@wileyplantsci
#PlantSci #metabolism #signaling #ROS #PlantScience #botany

Climate Change And Ecosystem Shifts In The Southwestern United States
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https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-46371-x <-- shared paper
--
#GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #USA #southwest #region #ussouthwest #southwestus #ecosystems #change #model #modeling #climatechange #ecosysteminstability #landmanagement #landcover #management #planning #abiotic #bioclimate #terrain #machinelearning #AI #climatemodels #mitigation #preparedness #decisionmaking #informed #informeddecisions #informedchoices

Understanding salt stress in #crop #plants is vital for #breeding programs and #food production. Learn about the essential role of #SmEb in the regulation of alternative pre-#mRNA splicing in this important #abiotic response. https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13457
@wileyplantsci
#PlantSci #JIPB

When can feedbacks between organisms and their #environment underpin coexistence? And how do #communityDynamics differ when #environmentalVariation is generated by #biotic feedbacks versus #abiotic drivers? We develop simple #theoreticalModels to explore these questions and more.

Article by Zachary R. Miller and Stefano Allesina now available ahead of print!

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/724821

Is there a relationship between #ABA sensitivity and #abiotic #stress tolerance in #plants? By testing ABA sensitivity in 436 #rice accessions, Du et al. find that OsbHLH38 plays a key role in controlling #salt tolerance.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13489
@wileyplantsci
#PlantScience #JIPB

“#Inuit are a #maritime people - we depend on the coast, #ocean and #sea ice for our #FoodSecurity, #culture and #economy, ” Sara Olsvig, ICC’s International Chair, said in a statement.

“From an Inuit perspective, like #HumanRights, all #LivingBeings are #interrelated , #interdependent and #interconnected – when one dimension is #impacted there is a #dynamic cascade amongst #connecting #ecological structures across #abiotic , #biotic and #cultural elements.

https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2023/03/16/un-high-seas-treaty-praised-by-inuit-circumpolar-council/

Biosphere, the biotic and abiotic ecosphere.

These are the voyages of the planet Earth.

Its continuing orbit around a bright yellow dwarf star, to evolve new life forms and new civilizations, to "boldly" go around where it.........? erm? went around before.

#space #Biosphere #ecosphere #ecology #biotic #abiotic #cosmos #cosmology #EarthShip #starship #stars #earth #planet #evolution #civilisation #species #music #startrek #comedy #education