Correspondence

Risks of tech metals by comparing the Demotic, under surveillance hieroglyphic and ancient Greek texts on the Rosetta stone found Our understanding of the possible in 1799, for example. In 2013, the environmental and ecological painting Sunset at Montmajour PHILIPPE BORSA/IRD toxic effects of technology-critical was confirmed as a genuine elements after extraction is not work by Vincent van Gogh after as limited as Winfred Espejo and consulting letters by the artist colleagues imply (Nature 557, describing it, and after analysing 492; 2018). Research is being its chemical composition, colours done into possible risks, especially and themes. Red-footed boobies (Sula sula) nesting in the Chesterfield archipelago. in Europe, and the community of Replicability testing is scientists involved is growing. particularly important for results contains links to other important one of the world’s largest atolls, is For instance, a European in humanities disciplines that information. Journals need to an example. It is part of France’s Cooperation in Science & use empirical methods, and for find unconflicted reviewers. overseas territory of New Technology (COST) Action cornerstone studies. Existing data Payment contacts for open Caledonia, and its remoteness has been evaluating these risks sets can be reanalysed, or new access might be required. By has so far preserved its wealth of since 2015. As well as organizing data can be collected using the using persistent identifiers, most biodiversity. We therefore call for training schools and advanced same or a modified study protocol of the manual processes in this the territory’s government to drop workshops, the TD1407 action (direct or conceptual replication, workflow can be semi-automated its plans to open these precious facilitates network and capacity respectively). Conceptual (see go.nature.com/2lnqibu). reefs to the destructive effects of building (see www.costnotice. replication is useful because it Expertise should not be wasted on cruise ships and mass ecotourism. net). allows researchers to triangulate mundane administrative tasks. The Chesterfield reefs were Many technology-critical results. Identifiers can also act as spared the 2016 mass-bleaching elements have not been Such testing will depend on signposts and coordinates, phenomenon that affected coral investigated (M. Filella and preregistration of studies and guiding us to information reefs around the world. They host J. C. Rodríguez-Murillo et al. on providing public access to sources and showing connections the largest seabird colonies in the Chemosphere 182, 605–616; detailed methods, data-analysis between research and researchers. tropical western Pacific. Indeed, 2017), but some have attracted plans and data sets. It is also They can increase the visibility nitrogen from seabird guano may attention. An example is important to develop and use of a study, its origins and its contribute to the resilience of gadolinium, mainly because of reporting guidelines for study impact, and indicate where it is reef-building corals (A. Lorrain its rapid accumulation in surface protocols, publications and hosted and who to ask for access. et al. Sci. Rep. 7, 3721; 2017). waters. Several others cited by the data sets. Funding agencies Contributors, peer reviewers and Comprising a remarkable correspondents have long been and scientific journals can help supporting materials can all be variety of corals, the reefs host an under investigation because they by demanding transparency linked to the published article. abundance of diverse fish shoals have applications that pre-date and by funding and publishing An important feature of and species such as the threatened their current use in technology. replication studies. identifiers is that they afford fairy tern (Sternula nereis), several Platinum is one such example. Rik Peels, Lex Bouter Vrije a wider understanding of the endemic marine gastropods and Montserrat Filella University of Universiteit Amsterdam, research landscape that does an endemic sea snake (Hydrophis Geneva, Switzerland. the Netherlands. not compromise privacy or laboutei). They are also a nesting Ishai Dror Weizmann Institute of [email protected] ‘ownership’ of the research itself site of regional importance for the Science, Rehovot, Israel. — pertinent, for example, when green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). Sebastien Rauch Chalmers the work is ongoing, personal or Cruise ships will inevitably University of Technology, Use persistent competitive. disrupt the reef and lagoon Gothenburg, Sweden. identifiers more Alice Meadows* ORCID, habitats and fauna. Their [email protected] Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. hundreds of passengers will Increasingly, ORCID, DOIs and [email protected] lethally disturb breeding seabird other identifier systems that are *On behalf of 6 co-signatories; see colonies, by repeatedly scaring Replication drive open and community-governed go.nature.com/2jmznwc for a full away nesting adults. This could for humanities are embedded in scholarly works list and for competing financial particularly affect the brown and information systems, such as interests. booby (Sula leucogaster), the Research in humanities papers and citation indices. They lesser and greater frigatebirds disciplines such as anthropology, could benefit research in many (Fregata ariel and F. minor) and archaeology, linguistics and more ways than their current Keep cruises off the sooty tern (Onychoprion theology can learn from use in unambiguously tracking remote coral reefs fuscatus). replication failures in the authors and published output. Philippe Borsa, Bertrand biomedical and social sciences Take, for example, the Just 3% of the world’s coral Richer de Forges French Research (go.nature.com/2stme7r). manuscript-submission process. reefs remain in near-pristine Institute for Development, Replication studies are not Authors must create a journal condition; about one-third of Nouméa, New Caledonia. unprecedented in the humanities. account, review submission these are located in the Coral Julien Baudat-Franceschi Corte, The deciphering of Egyptian requirements and upload their Sea in the South Pacific Ocean. France. hieroglyphics was validated manuscript, which probably The Chesterfield reef ensemble, [email protected]