Separate salt-pond methane associations from unmeasured interspecies mechanisms #1812

Finding

CommunityMech:000246 / South_Bay_Salt_Pond_Methane_Restoration_Community, doi:10.1038/s41396-021-01067-w (PMC8692437). Restoration-state composition differences and sulfate/methane correlations are not NICHE_PARTITIONING or demonstrated competition. Methanogenesis markers and methylphosphonate degradation potential do not establish SYNTROPHY or CROSS_FEEDING. Retain four bounded observations, add statistical provenance, and scope the archaeal node to canonical archaea and the explicitly bacterial pathway node to canonical bacteria without asserting exclusivity (the paper also finds archaeal phnJ). Preserve the methane-production substrate result as support for the existing methanogenesis node, not proof of a partner interaction or field pathway flux fraction. No new arrows; retain prior #652 treatment separation.

Lifecycle

Address in the dependent batch103 PR; close only after protected-main merge. Self-adversarial review is not independent approval. No paid provider submission or new topology is part of this repair.