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In this research, sources of methane emissions of an anaerobic digester (AD) system at a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) with 260,000 population equivalent (PE) capacity were detected by a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) camera. The located emissions were evaluated qualitatively and were documented with photographs and video films. Subsequently, the emission sources were quantified individually using different methods like the Flux-Chamber method and sampling from the digester's circulation pipe. The dissolved methane in the sludge digester was measured via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and 6.8% oversaturation compared to the equilibrium after Henry's law was found. Additionally, the residual gas potential of the digestate was measured using batch tests with 10 days' additional stabilisation time. The PE-specific residual gas production of the full-scale AD was calculated to 12.4 g CH4/(PE · y). An extended chemical oxygen demand (COD) balance including methane emissions for the whole digester system was calculated. Also the measured methane loads were calculated and summed up. The total methane loss of the AD was calculated at 24.6 g CH4/(PE · y), which corresponds to 0.4% of the produced biogas (4,913 g CH4/(PE · y)). PE-specific methane emission factors are presented for each investigated (point) source like the sludge outlet at the digester's head, a leaking manhole sealing and cracks in the concrete structure.

The capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services is directly related to their three-dimensional structural complexity. This parameter is also correlated with total fish biomass, reef resilience to external stresses and the dissipation of wave energy. However, information on structural complexity (i.e., reef rugosity) has not always been assessed in historical monitoring programs, and long-term trends are sometimes unavailable. In this study, we show that it is possible to predict and hindcast the three-dimensional complexity of coral reefs by combining photogrammetry, statistical modeling and historical benthic community data. We calibrated lasso generalized linear models and boosted regression trees to predict structural complexity from photogrammetry transects around Moorea (French Polynesia). Our models were able to predict structural complexity with high accuracy (cross-validated R2 ranges between 0.81 and 0.9). We then used our models to hindcast historical trends in 3D structural complexity using community composition data collected in Moorea from 2004 to 2017. The temporal analysis highlighted the severe impact of a crown-of-thorns (COTS) outbreak from 2006 to 2009 and Cyclone Oli in 2010. In conjunction, these two events reduce coral cover from ~ 50% to almost zero. While the collection of actual data is always to be preferred, our model captured these effects, confirming the capacity of this modeling technique to predict structural complexity on the basis of assemblage composition.

Operational data over 2 years from three large Austrian wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with design capacities of 4 million, 950,000 and 110,000 population equivalent (PE) were examined. Salt peaks, due to thawing road salt were detected and quantified by electrical conductivity, temperature and chloride measurement in the inflow of the WWTPs. Daily NaCl inflow loads up to 1,147 t/d and PE-specific loads of 0.26–0.5 kg NaCl/(PE · y) were found. To mimic the plants' behaviour in a controlled environment, NaCl was dosed into the inflow of a laboratory-scale activated sludge plant. The influence of salt peaks on important activated sludge parameters such as sludge volume index, settling velocity and floc size were investigated. Influent and effluent were sampled extensively to calculate removal rates. Respiration measurements were performed to quantify activated sludge activity. Particle size distributions of the activated sludge floc sizes were measured using laser diffraction particle sizing and showed a decrease of the floc size by approximately two-thirds. The floc structure was examined and documented using light microscopy. At salt concentrations below 1 g/L, increased respiration was found for autotrophic biomass, and between 1 and 3 g NaCl/L respiration was inhibited by up to 30%.

In the marine realm, the tropics host an extraordinary diversity of taxa but the drivers underlying the global distribution of marine organisms are still under scrutiny and we still lack an accurate global predictive model. Using a spatial database for 6336 tropical reef fishes, we attempted to predict species richness according to geometric, biogeographical and environmental explanatory variables. In particular, we aimed to evaluate and disentangle the predictive performances of temperature, habitat area, connectivity, mid-domain effect and biogeographical region on reef fish species richness. We used boosted regression trees, a flexible machine-learning technique, to build our predictive model and structural equation modeling to test for potential ‘mediation effects’ among predictors. Our model proved to be accurate, explaining 80% of the total deviance in fish richness using a cross-validated procedure. Coral reef area and biogeographical region were the primary predictors of reef fish species richness, followed by coast length, connectivity, mid-domain effect and sea surface temperature, with interactions between the region and other predictors. Important indirect effects of water temperature on reef fish richness, mediated by coral reef area, were also identified. The relationship between environmental predictors and species richness varied markedly among biogeographical regions. Our analysis revealed that a few easily accessible variables can accurately predict reef fish species richness. They also highlight concerns regarding ongoing environmental declines, with region-specific responses to variation in environmental conditions predicting a variable response to anthropogenic impacts.

Although coral reefs support the largest concentrations of marine biodiversity worldwide, the extent to which the global system of marine-protected areas (MPAs) represents individual species and the breadth of evolutionary history across the Tree of Life has never been quantified. Here we show that only 5.7% of scleractinian coral species and 21.7% of labrid fish species reach the minimum protection target of 10% of their geographic ranges within MPAs. We also estimate that the current global MPA system secures only 1.7% of the Tree of Life for corals, and 17.6% for fishes. Regionally, the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific show the greatest deficit of protection for corals while for fishes this deficit is located primarily in the Western Indian Ocean and in the Central Pacific. Our results call for a global coordinated expansion of current conservation efforts to fully secure the Tree of Life on coral reefs. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are established to conserve species, but the extent to which they also conserve evolutionary history is not clear. Here, Mouillot et al . show that for tropical corals and fish, the current global MPA network secures only 1.7 and 17.6% of phylogenetic diversity, respectively.

Coral reefs are experiencing declines due to climate change and local human impacts. While at a local scale these impacts induce biodiversity loss and shifts in community structure, previous biogeographical analyses recorded consistent taxonomic structure of fish communities across global coral reefs. This suggests that regional communities represent a random subset of the global species and traits pool, whatever their species richness. Using distributional data on 3586 fish species and latest advances in species distribution models, we show marked gradients in the prevalence of size classes and diet categories across the biodiversity gradient. This divergence in trait structure is best explained by reef isolation during past unfavourable climatic conditions, with large and piscivore fishes better represented in isolated areas. These results suggest the risk of a global community reorganization if the ongoing climate-induced reef fragmentation is not halted.

Aim To investigate biotic and abiotic correlates of reef‐fish species richness across multiple spatial scales. Location Tropical reefs around the globe, including 485 sites in 109 sub‐provinces spread across 14 biogeographic provinces. Time period Present. Major taxa studied 2,523 species of reef fish. Methods We compiled a database encompassing 13,050 visual transects. We used hierarchical linear Bayesian models to investigate whether fish body size, reef area, isolation, temperature, and anthropogenic impacts correlate with reef‐fish species richness at each spatial scale (i.e., sites, sub‐provinces, provinces). Richness was estimated using coverage‐based rarefaction. We also tested whether species packing (i.e., transect‐level species richness/m2) is correlated with province‐level richness. Results Body size had the strongest effect on species richness across all three spatial scales. Reef area and temperature were both positively correlated with richness at all spatial scales. At the site scale only, richness decreased with reef isolation. Species richness was not correlated with proxies of human impacts. Species packing was correlated with species richness at the province level following a sub‐linear power function. Province‐level differences in species richness were also mirrored by patterns of body size distribution at the site scale. Species‐rich provinces exhibited heterogeneous assemblages of small‐bodied species with small range sizes, whereas species‐poor provinces encompassed homogeneous assemblages composed by larger species with greater dispersal capacity. Main conclusions Our findings suggest that body size distribution, reef area and temperature are major predictors of species richness and accumulation across scales, consistent with recent theories linking home range to species–area relationships as well as metabolic effects on speciation rates. Based on our results, we hypothesize that in less diverse areas, species are larger and likely more dispersive, leading to larger range sizes and less turnover between sites. Our results indicate that changes in province‐level (i.e., regional) richness should leave a tractable fingerprint in local assemblages, and that detailed studies on local‐scale assemblage composition may be informative of responses occurring at larger scales.

Coral reefs are among the most species-rich and threatened ecosystems on Earth, yet the extent to which human stressors determine species occurrences, compared with biogeography or environmental conditions, remains largely unknown. With ever-increasing human-mediated disturbances on these ecosystems, an important question is not only how many species can inhabit local communities, but also which biological traits determine species that can persist (or not) above particular disturbance thresholds. Here we show that human pressure and seasonal climate variability are disproportionately and negatively associated with the occurrence of large-bodied and geographically small-ranging fishes within local coral reef communities. These species are 67% less likely to occur where human impact and temperature seasonality exceed critical thresholds, such as in the marine biodiversity hotspot: the Coral Triangle. Our results identify the most sensitive species and critical thresholds of human and climatic stressors, providing opportunity for targeted conservation intervention to prevent local extinctions. Knowing which species traits may confer resilience to human-mediated stressors will help predict future impacts on biodiversity. Here, Mellin et al . show that large bodied fish with small geographic ranges are disproportionately affected by the negative impacts of human disturbance and climate variability.

The purpose of this work is to characterize several potential sources of organic matter (OM) in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia, and to understand how these sources contribute to OM pools. Stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) and fatty acid (FA) compositions of OM potential sources (algal turf, benthic macroalgae, detrital terrestrial plants (DTP), phytoplankton) and OM pools (sediment (SOM) and particulate organic matter (POM)) were studied in coastal areas in Nuku Hiva Island. Isotope compositions of marine POM (δ13C = − 22.5 ± 0.8 ‰; δ15N = 12.1 ± 1.1 ‰) and SOM (δ13C = − 19.1 ± 0.9 ‰; δ15N = 14.4 ± 0.5 ‰) highlighted that OM sources at the base of the local food web had unusually high δ15N values. Potential FA markers of diatoms and/or cyanobacteria (20:5ω3 and 16:1ω7) were found in these two OM pools. In addition, coastal SOM also displayed FA markers of bacteria, macroalgae and terrestrial plants. For marine POM, potential macroalgae FA markers were recorded (18:2ω6 and 16:2ω4). The stable isotope mixing model highlighted the major contribution of phytoplankton to the coastal SOM (62%), followed by benthic macroalgae (32%), whereas marine POM was mainly composed of a mixture of algal turf and phytoplankton in similar averaged proportions (38%) but presenting wide variations. Our results as a whole strongly suggest that pelagic-benthic coupled processes drive the characteristics and properties of OM sources.

The paper will report about the experiences at an Austrian large wastewater treatment plant of 720,000 population equivalents, where anaerobically digested sewage sludge is further stabilised under aerobic conditions. Enhanced stabilisation of the anaerobically digested sludge was required at the plant in order to get a permit for landfill disposal of the dewatered stabilized sludge. By implementing a post-aeration treatment (SRT ∼ 6d; 36 °C) after anaerobic digestion the organic content of the anaerobically well digested sludge can be decreased by 16%. Investigations on site showed that during digested sludge post-aeration anoxic phases for denitrification are needed to provide stable process conditions. In this way the pH value can be kept in a more favourable range for micro-organisms and concrete structures. Additionally, inhibition of the biological process due to nitrite accumulation can be avoided. By optimising the aeration/pause ratio ∼ 45% of total nitrogen in digested sludge can be removed. This significantly improves nitrogen removal efficiency at the wastewater treatment plant. NH4-removal occurs mainly through nitritation and denitritation with an efficiency of 98%. The costs/benefit analysis shows that post-aeration of digested sludge results in an increase of total annual costs for wastewater treatment of only 0.84%, corresponding to 0.19 Euro/pe/a. Result of molecular biological analyses (DGGE) indicate that all four ammonium-oxidizing bacteria species present in activated sludge can survive anaerobic digestion, but only two of them can adapt in the digested sludge post-aeration tanks. Additionally, in the post-aerated digested sludge a further ammonium-oxidizing bacteria species was identified.