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Both gradual and extreme weather changes trigger complex ecological responses in river ecosystems. It is still unclear to what extent trend or event effects alter biodiversity and functioning in river ecosystems, adding considerable uncertainty to predictions of their future dynamics. Using a comprehensive database of 71 published studies, we show that event – but not trend – effects associated with extreme changes in water flow and temperature substantially reduce species richness. Furthermore, event effects – particularly those affecting hydrological dynamics – on biodiversity and primary productivity were twice as high as impacts due to gradual changes. The synthesis of the available evidence reveals that event effects induce regime shifts in river ecosystems, particularly affecting organisms such as invertebrates. Among extreme weather events, dryness associated with flow interruption caused the largest effects on biota and ecosystem functions in rivers. Effects on ecosystem functions (primary production, organic matter decomposition and respiration) were asymmetric, with only primary production exhibiting a negative response to extreme weather events. Our meta-analysis highlights the disproportionate impact of event effects on river biodiversity and ecosystem functions, with implications for the long-term conservation and management of river ecosystems. However, few studies were available from tropical areas, and our conclusions therefore remain largely limited to temperate river systems. Further efforts need to be directed to assemble evidence of extreme events on river biodiversity and functioning., This research was funded by the CLIMALERT ERA4CS project (CGL2017-88640-C2-1-R of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness; ERA4CS/0004/2016 of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology). Additional support was received through the projects RIVSTRESS (PID2020-115708RB-C22) and STREAMECO (PTDC/CTA-AMB/31245/2017). ICRA researchers acknowledge funding from the CERCA program and the support through the Consolidated Research Group ICRA-ENV 2017 SGR 1124. The CBMA researchers acknowledge the Contrato-Programa UIDB/04050/2020 funded by Fundaçao para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. A.F. acknowledges the Juan de la Cierva program (IJC2019-039181-I) funded by MCIN/AEI.

Catchment urbanisation results in urban streams being exposed to a multitude of stressors. Notably, stressors originating from diffuse sources have received less attention than stressors originating from point sources. Here, advances related to diffuse urban stressors and their consequences for stream benthic communities are summarised by reviewing 92 articles. Based on the search criteria, the number of articles dealing with diffuse urban stressors in streams has been increasing, and most of them focused on North America, Europe, and China. Land use was the most common measure used to characterize diffuse stressor sources in urban streams (70.7 % of the articles characterised land use), and chemical stressors (inorganic nutrients, xenobiotics, metals, and water properties, including pH and conductivity) were more frequently reported than physical or biological stressors. A total of 53.3 % of the articles addressed the impact of urban stressors on macroinvertebrates, while 35.9 % focused on bacteria, 9.8 % on fungi, and 8.7 % on algae. Regarding ecosystem functions, almost half of the articles (43.5 %) addressed changes in community dynamics, 40.3 % addressed organic matter decomposition, and 33.9 % addressed nutrient cycling. When comparing urban and non-urban streams, the reviewed studies suggest that urbanisation negatively impacts the diversity of benthic organisms, leading to shifts in community composition. These changes imply functional degradation of streams. The results of the present review summarise the knowledge gained to date and identify its main gaps to help improve our understanding of urban streams.

Temporary streams are submitted to high seasonal hydrological variations which induce habitat fragmentation. Global change promotes longer non-flow periods, affecting hydrological continuity and the distribution of biological assemblages in river networks. We aimed to investigate the effects of hydrological discontinuity on phototrophic biofilm assemblages in a Mediterranean stream, at both network and habitat scales. At the network scale during basal flow conditions, mostly nitrate and DOC concentrations were associated to the taxonomical and trait distribution of algae and cyanobacterial assemblages. Cyanobacteria dominated at the upstream and downstream sites of the network, while green algae and diatoms were abundant in its middle part. At the habitat scale, hydrological discontinuity promoted large changes in biofilm composition between riffles and pools, where pools were inhabited preferentially by green algae and riffle habitats by cyanobacteria. Our findings emphasize the myriad of factors affecting the spatial distribution of phototrophic biofilms, which become more heterogeneous according to water flow interruption. Under the predicted climate change scenarios, spatial heterogeneity in temporary streams may increase, which will lead to change phototrophic biofilm assemblages.

Globally, inland waters emit over 2 Pg of carbon per year as carbon dioxide, of which the majority originates from streams and rivers. Despite the global significance of fluvial carbon dioxide emissions, little is known about their diel dynamics. Here we present a large-scale assessment of day- and night-time carbon dioxide fluxes at the water-air interface across 34 European streams. We directly measured fluxes four times between October 2016 and July 2017 using drifting chambers. Median fluxes are 1.4 and 2.1mmolm(-2) h(-1) at midday and midnight, respectively, with night fluxes exceeding those during the day by 39%. We attribute diel carbon dioxide flux variability mainly to changes in the water partial pressure of carbon dioxide. However, no consistent drivers could be identified across sites. Our findings highlight widespread day-night changes in fluvial carbon dioxide fluxes and suggest that the time of day greatly influences measured carbon dioxide fluxes across European streams. Diel patterns can greatly impact total stream carbon dioxide emissions, with 39% greater carbon dioxide flux during the night-time relative to the day-time, according to a study of 34 streams across Europe.

Background: Globally, streams emit significant amounts of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas. However, little is known about the stream sediment microbial communities that control the net methane balance in these systems, and in particular about their distribution and composition at large spatial scales. This study investigated the diversity and abundance of methanogenic archaea and methane-oxidizing microorganisms across 16 European streams (from northern Spain to northern Sweden and from western Ireland to western Bulgaria) via 16S rRNA gene sequencing and qPCR. Furthermore, it examined environmental factors influencing both abundance and community composition and explored the link to measured potential methane production and oxidation rates of the respective sediments. Results: Our results demonstrated that the methanogenic and methanotrophic microbiomes of the studied European streams were linked to both the temperature and degree of anthropogenic alteration. The microbiomes could be separated into two to three groups according to environmental factors at both stream and catchment scales. Main methanogenic taxa found within more anthropogenically-altered, warm, and oxygen-poor environments were either Methanospirillum spp. or members of the families Methanosarcinaceae and Methanobacteriaceae . Within such environments, methane oxidizing communities were strongly characterized by members of the family Methylobacteriaceae ( Meganema spp. and Microvirga spp.). Contrastingly, communities in colder environments rich in oxygen and with relatively little anthropogenic impact at the catchment scale were characterized by the methanogenic Methanosaetaceae , Methanocellaceae and Methanoregulaceae and the methanotrophic Methyloglobulus spp ., members of the CABC2E06 group (all Methylococcaceae ) and by various Candidatus Methanoperedens. Overall, diversity of methanogenic archaea increased with increasing water temperature. Methane oxidizing communities showed higher diversities in southern sampling sites and in streams with larger stream areas and widths. Potential methane production rates significantly increased with increasing abundance of methanogenic archaea, while potential methane oxidation rates did not show significant correlations with abundances of methane oxidizing bacteria, presumably due to the more diverse physiological capabilities of this group. Conclusions: We present the first large scale overview of the large-scale microbial biogeography of two microbial groups driving the methane cycle dynamics within stream sediments and deduce the impact that future anthropogenic alterations may cause.

Arctic terrestrial vegetation is responding to warming with higher biomass and productivity, but the effects for freshwater ecosystems are unclear. Biofilm extracellular enzymes are important mediators of organic matter processing in aquatic ecosystems, thus understanding how enzyme activities change with water temperature and organic matter availability is important to assess the effects of climate change. Here, we studied biofilm enzyme activities in six streams differing in their riparian vegetation cover and water thermal regime on Disko Island, Greenland. For all streams, biofilms enzymes showed a low activity to decompose plant material, as expected in the Arctic. However, in contrast to simple polysaccharides, there was a significant increase in the capacity for hemicellulose decomposition, in streams with high-vegetation cover. Moreover, biofilms in high-vegetation streams showed greater autotrophy (chlorophyll a to total organic matter content) and higher phosphatase activity than stream with low-vegetation cover ones. Enzyme temperature sensitivity (measured as the rate of change of enzyme activity by biofilms incubated at 3 and 22 °C) did not change across the streams, but differed among enzymes types. Phosphatase and phenol oxidase enzymes presented the highest sensitivity to water temperature, which suggests that the degradation of organic phosphorous compounds and lignin could be disproportionately enhanced under warming climate scenarios.

The sensitivity and spatial recovery of river sediment biofilms along 1 km after the input of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in two river reaches with different degrees of anthropogenic influence were investigated. First, at the upper reach, we observed an inhibition of some microbial functions (microbial respiration and extracellular enzyme activities) and strong shifts in bacterial community composition (16S rRNA gene), whereas an increase in microbial biomass and activity and less pronounced effect on microbial diversity and community composition were seen at the lower reach. Second, at the lower reach we observed a quick spatial recovery (around 200 m downstream of the effluent) as most of the functions and community composition were similar to those from reference sites. On the other hand, bacterial community composition and water quality at the upper reach was still altered 1 km from the WWTP effluent. Our results indicate that biofilms in the upstream sites were more sensitive to the effect of WWTPs due to a lower degree of tolerance after a disturbance than communities located in more anthropogenically impacted sites.

Fullerenes are carbon nanomaterials that have awaken a strong interest due to their adsorption properties and potential applications in many fields. However, there are some gaps of information about their effects and bioconcentration potential in the aquatic biota. In the present work, freshwater biofilms and snails (Radix sp.) were exposed to fullerene C60 aggregates, at concentrations in the low μg/L order, in mesocosms specifically designed to mimic the conditions of a natural stream. The bioconcentration factors of C60 fullerene and its main transformation product, [6,6]C60O epoxide, were studied to the mentioned organisms employing analyses by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry. Our results show that C60 fullerene and its [6,6]C60O present a low bioconcentration factor (BCF) to biofilms: BCFC60 = 1.34 ± 0.95 L/kgdw and BCFC60O = 1.43 ± 0.72 L/kgdw. This suggests that the sorption of these aggregates to biota may be less favoured than it would be suggested by its hydrophobic character. According to our model, the surface of fullerene aggregates is saturated with [6,6]C60O molecules, which exposes the polar epoxide moieties in the surface of the aggregates and decreases their affinity to biofilms. In contrast, freshwater snails showed a moderate capacity to actively retain C60 fullerenes in their organism (BAFC60 = 2670 ± 3070 L/kgdw; BAFC60O = 1330 ± 1680 L/kgdw), probably through ingestion. Our results indicate that the bioaccumulation of these carbon nanomaterials can be hardly estimated using their respective octanol-water partition coefficients, and that their colloidal properties, as well as the feeding strategies of the tested organism, play fundamental roles. © 2019 Elsevier Inc., This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project NANO-transfer (ERA-NET SIINN PCIN-2015-182-CO2-01) and by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups “2014 SGR 418 – Water and Soil Quality Unit” and “2014 SGR 291 – ICRA”). Lúcia H.M.L.M. Santos acknowledges the Juan de la Cierva program (IJCI-2017-32747) and Julio C. López-Doval thanks the program Juan de la Cierva from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (IJCI-2015-23644). Appendix A

The brown food chain (based on decomposers) co-exists in streams with the green food chain (based on primary producers). The two trophic chains perform specific ecosystem functions which may be altered by the effect of contaminants. Copper is a common contaminant with recognized effects on several compartments of the two trophic chains. We applied it in two separate mesocosm experiments, in which we tested the effects of copper after contrasting patterns of contaminant exposure (constant vs hump-shaped). The constant input simulated a chronic contamination (average of 20 μg/L Cu), while the hump-shaped simulated the steady arrival of copper, the occurrence of a peak (reaching ca. 60 μg/L Cu), and its progressive decrease (down to 10–15 μg/L Cu). In the green trophic food chain, copper exposure decreased the total chlorophyll-a as well as the basal fluorescence and the photosynthetic yield. The treatment receiving hump-shaped inputs caused the highest mortality of the green food chain consumer, the snail Radix balthica. In the chronic copper exposure, mortality achieved a maximum of 80% by the end of the experiment but occurred later than that in the hump-shaped treatment. Effects on the brown food chain were not so pronounced; the microbial decomposition rate of leaflitter decreased nearly ca. 50% after 14 days of copper exposure. Effects on decomposition translated into the ingestion performance of detritivores, which decreased in the two copper treatments. Our results provide evidence that copper affected the two trophic food chains. The hump-shaped arrival included a peak of high concentration, which caused lethal effects on the consumers, but also a decreasing limb, which allowed a partial recovery of the algal photosynthetic variables. Our results suggest the need to consider the different compartments and functions performed within the stream trophic web when evaluating the effects of a contaminant in a river ecosystem.

River sediment physical properties are linked to flow and are important for the attachment of microorganisms. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between physical characteristics of surface sediments in a Mediterranean river and their organic matter content and microbial biomass. To do this, we analyzed particle-size distribution, organic matter content, chlorophyll-a, and bacterial density in sediments collected along a 54 km reach under three flow conditions (i.e., drought, low-flow, and base-flow). Multiple regression analysis revealed that during the drought condition, sediment heterogeneity and porosity regulated bacterial density and organic matter content and that bacterial density tended to be lower as the proportion of mud increased. However, under the low-flow and base-flow conditions, bacterial density was related to percent mud, which may provide more surface area for colonization than cobbles. Algal biomass was affected by sediment particle-size distribution only under the base-flow condition, when chlorophyll-a content was enhanced by sediment heterogeneity and a higher relative abundance of sand, suggesting that when biomass declines due to increased shear stress, sediment particle-size distribution becomes more determinant for algal colonization. Our results highlight the importance of considering the interplay of sediment particle-size distribution and flow regime when studying microbial communities in river sediments.

Objective To evaluate the clinical utility of glycolic acid (GA) determination in the diagnosis and prognosis of ethylene glycol (EG) intoxications. Method Systematic review of serum and/or urine GA concentrations available in the literature in cases of EG poisoning. Present a clinical case in which the determination of the GA was decisive. Results In total, 137 patients were included. Serum GA concentrations (but not EG) of patients who survive are different from those who die. The optimal cut-off of serum GA to predict mortality was 990.5 mg/L (sensitivity 85.2%, specificity 54.3%) with an Odds Ratio of 6.838 (2.868–16.302). In our clinical case, serum EG was negative; however, urine GA was positive (1230.7 mg/L). Conclusions In all suspected cases of EG poisoning, it is advisable to carry out the simultaneous analysis of EG and GA.

An increasing amount of carbon-based nanomaterials (CNM) (mostly fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene) has been observed in aquatic systems over the last years. However, the potential toxicity of these CNM on aquatic ecosystems remains unclear. This paper reviews the existing literature on the toxic effects of CNM in aquatic organisms as well as the toxic effects of CNM through influencing the toxicity of other micro-pollutants, and outlines a series of research needs to reduce the uncertainty associated with CNMs toxic effects. The results show that environmental concentrations of CNM do not pose a threat on aquatic organisms on their own. The observed concentrations of CNM in aquatic environments are in the order of ngL-1 or even lower, much below than the lowest observed effect concentrations (LOEC) on different aquatic organisms (in the order of mgL-1). Toxic effects have been mainly observed in short-term experiments at high concentrations, and toxicity principally depends on the type of organisms, exposition time and CNM preparation methods. Moreover, we observed that CNM interact (establishing synergistic and/or antagonistic effects) with other micro-pollutants. Apparently, the resulting interaction is highly dependent on the chemical properties of each micro-pollutant, CNM acting either as carriers or as sorbents, thereby modifying the original toxicity of the contaminants. Results stress the need of studying the interactive effects of CNM with other micro-pollutants at environmental relevant concentrations, as well as their effects on biological communities in the long-term.

Flow cytometry is suitable to discriminate and quantify aquatic microbial cells within a spectrum of fluorescence and light scatter signals. Using fixed gating and operational settings, we developed a finite distribution mixture model, followed by the Voronoi tessellation, to resolve bivariate cytometric profiles into cohesive subgroups of events. This procedure was applied to outline recurrent patterns and quantitative changes of the aquatic microbial community along a river hydrologic continuum. We found five major subgroups within each of the commonly retrieved populations of cells with Low and High content of Nucleic Acids (namely, LNA, and HNA cells). Moreover, the advanced analysis allowed assessing changes of community patterns perturbed by a wastewater feed. Our approach for cytometric data deconvolution confirmed that flow cytometry could represent a prime candidate technology for assessing microbial community patterns in flowing waters. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

Diel temperature patterns are changing because of global warming, with higher temperatures being predicted to be more pronounced at night. Biological reactions are temperature dependent, with some occurring only during the daylight hours (e.g., light photosynthesis) and other during the entire day (e.g., respiration). Consequently, we expect the modification of daily temperature cycles to alter microbial biological reactions in stream sediments. Here, we aimed to study the effect of warming and changes of the diel temperature patterns on stream sediment biofilm functions tied to organic carbon decomposition, as well as on biofilm meiofaunal community structure. We performed an eight-week experiment with 12 artificial streams subjected to three different diel temperature patterns: warming, warmer nights and control. Significant effects of warming on biofilm function and structure were mainly detected in the long term. Our results showed that warming altered biofilm function, especially in the warmer nights' treatment, which enhanced β-glucosidase enzyme activity. Interestingly, clear opposite diel patterns were observed for dissolved organic carbon and β-glucosidase activity, suggesting that, at night, sediment bacteria quickly consume the input of photosynthetic dissolved organic carbon labile compounds created during light-time. The biofilm structure was also altered by warming, as both warming and warmer night treatments enhanced copepod abundance and diminished abundances of turbellaria and nematodes, which, in turn, controlled bacterial, algal and ciliate communities. Overall, we conclude that warming has strong effect on sediment biofilm structure and enhanced microbial organic matter degradation which might, consequently, affect higher trophic levels and river carbon cycling.

The accumulation of biofilms in porous media is likely to influence the overall hydraulic properties and, consequently, a sound understanding of the process is required for the proper design and management of many technological applications. In order to bring some light into this phenomenon we present a mechanistic model to study the variably saturated hydraulic properties of bio-amended soils. Special emphasis is laid on the distribution of phases at pore-scale and the mechanisms to retain and let water flow through, providing valuable insights into phenomena behind bioclogging. Our approach consists in modeling the porous media as an ensemble of capillary tubes, obtained from the biofilm-free water retention curve. This methodology is extended by the incorporation of a biofilm composed of bacterial cells and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Moreover, such a microbial consortium displays a channeled geometry that shrinks/swells with suction. Analytical equations for the volumetric water content and the relative permeability can then be derived by assuming that biomass reshapes the pore space following specific geometrical patterns. The model is discussed by using data from laboratory studies and other approaches already existing in the literature. It can reproduce (i) displacements of the retention curve toward higher saturations and (ii) permeability reductions of distinct orders of magnitude. Our findings also illustrate how even very small amounts of biofilm may lead to significant changes in the hydraulic properties. We, therefore, state the importance of accounting for the hydraulic characteristics of biofilms and for a complex/more realistic geometry of colonies at the pore-scale.

Global change exposes ecosystems to a myriad of stressors differing in their spatial (i.e. surface of stressed area) and temporal (i.e. exposure time) components. Among freshwater ecosystems, rivers and streams are subject to physical, chemical and biological stressors, which interact with each other and might produce diverging effects depending on exposure time. We conducted a manipulative experiment using 24 artificial streams to examine the individual and combined effects of warming (1.6 °C increase in water temperature), hydrological stress (simulated low-flow situation) and chemical stress caused by pesticide exposure (15.1–156.7 ng L−1) on river biofilms. We examined whether co-occurring stressors could lead to non-additive effects, and if these differed at two different exposure times. Specifically, structural and functional biofilm responses were assessed after 48 hours (short-term effects) and after 30 days (long-term effects) of exposure. Hydrological stress caused strong negative impacts on river biofilms, whereas effects of warming and pesticide exposure were less intense, although increasing on the long term. Most stressor combinations (71%) resulted in non-significant interactions, suggesting overall additive effects, but some non-additive interactions also occurred. Among non-additive interactions, 59% were classified as antagonisms after short-term exposure to the different stressor combinations, rising to 86% at long term. Our results indicate that a 30-day exposure period to multiple stressors increases the frequency of antagonistic interactions compared to a 48-hour exposure to the same conditions. Overall, the impacts of multiple-stressor occurrences appear to be hardly predictable from individual effects, highlighting the need to consider temporal components such as duration when predicting the effects of multiple stressors.

Emerging pollutants occur in complex mixtures in rivers and have the potential to interact with freshwater organisms. The chronic effects of nominal exposure to 3 μg/L of fullerenes (C60) and 1 μg/L of triclosan (TCS) alone and in a binary mixture, were evaluated using the freshwater snail Radix balthica. Pollutants accumulation, reproductive output and feeding behavior were selected as sublethal endpoints. After 21 days of exposure, we did not observe interactive effects between TCS and C60 on the studied endpoints, except for the accumulation of C60 in R. balthica in TCS + C60 treatment, which was lower than when the fullerenes were alone. Neither TCS nor C60 caused significant effects on reproduction, expressed as number of eggs per individual, but an increase in the clutch size was observed in treatments with TCS at the third week of exposure, independently of the presence of C60 (16.15 ± 1.67 and 18.9 ± 4.01 eggs/egg mass in TCS and TCS + C60 treatments, respectively, vs. 13.17 ± 4.01 in control). The presence of C60 significantly enhanced the grazing activity of R. balthica during the first seven days (4.95 ± 1.35 and 3.91 ± 0.59% of the area grazed per individual in C60 and TCS + C60 treatments, respectively, vs 2.6 ± 0.39% in control). The accumulation of TCS was quite similar in treatments where this pollutant was present (BAF ≈ 1007 L/kg d.w.); however, the accumulation of C60 was higher when the nanoparticles were alone (BAF = 254.88 L/kg d.w.) than when it was in the binary mixture (BAF = 7.79 L/kg d.w). Overall, although TCS has been listed as an endocrine disrupter compound, no significant effects on reproduction were observed in the assayed conditions. Regarding C60, the limited effects on feeding activity and the low BAF obtained in this experiment indicate that fullerenes do not have ecological consequences of relevance at the studied environmental concentrations in freshwater snails. © 2019 Elsevier Inc., This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project NANO-transfer (ERA-NET SIINN PCIN-2015-182-CO2-01) and by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups “2014 SGR 418 – Water and Soil Quality Unit” and “2014 SGR 291 – ICRA”). Julio C. López-Doval (IJCI-2015-23644), Lúcia H.M.L.M. Santos (FJCI-2014-22377 and IJCI-2017-32747) and Anna Freixa (FJCI-2017-33171) acknowledge the Juan de la Cierva program from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Sara Rodriguez-Mozaz acknowledges the Ramon y Cajal program (RYC-2014-16707).

A huge variety of organic microcontaminants are presently detected in freshwater ecosystems, but there is still a lack of knowledge about their interactions, either with living organisms or with other contaminants. Actually, carbon nanomaterials like fullerenes (C60) can act as carriers of organic microcontaminants, but their relevance in processes like bioaccumulation and biotransformation of organic microcontaminants by organisms is unknown. In this study, mesocosm experiments were used to assess the bioaccumulation and biotransformation of three organic microcontaminants (venlafaxine, diuron and triclosan) in river biofilms, and to understand how much the concomitant presence of C60 at environmental relevant concentrations could impact these processes. Results indicated that venlafaxine exhibited the highest bioaccumulation (13% of the initial concentration of venlafaxine in water), while biotransformation was more evident for triclosan (5% of the initial concentration of triclosan in water). Furthermore, biotransformation products such as methyl-triclosan were also present in the biofilm, with levels up to 42% of the concentration of accumulated triclosan. The presence of C60 did not involve relevant changes in the bioaccumulation and biotransformation of microcontaminants in biofilms, which showed similar patterns. Nevertheless, the study shows that a detailed evaluation of the partition of the organic microcontaminants and their transformation products in freshwater systems are important to better understand the impact of the co-existence of others microcontaminants, like carbon nanomaterials, in their possible routes of bioaccumulation and biotransformation. © 2018 Elsevier Inc., This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project NANOTRANSFER; ERA SIINN PCIN-2015-182-C02-02 and project PLAS-MED; CTM2017-89701-C3-2-R). Authors also acknowledge the support from the Economy and Knowledge Department of the Catalan Government through Consolidated Research Group (ICRA-ENV 2017 SGR 1124 & 2017 SGR 1404). Lúcia H.M.L.M. Santos acknowledges the Juan de la Cierva Program (FJCI-2014-22377) and Sara Rodríguez-Mozaz acknowledges the Ramon y Cajal Program (RYC-2014-16707). Funding sources This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project NANOTRANSFER; ERA SIINN PCIN-2015-182-C02-02 and project PLAS-MED; CTM2017-89701-C3-2-R). Authors also acknowledge the support from the Economy and Knowledge Department of the Catalan Government through Consolidated Research Group (ICRA-ENV 2017 SGR 1124 & 2017 SGR 1404). Lúcia H.M.L.M. Santos acknowledges the Juan de la Cierva program (FJCI-2014-22377) and Sara Rodríguez-Mozaz acknowledges the Ramon y Cajal program (RYC-2014-16707).

Heterotrophic bacteria play a key role in the degradation of organic matter and carbon cycling in river sediments. These bacterial communities are directly influenced by environmental variables that differ spatially and temporally in rivers. Here, we studied the longitudinal patterns of sediment bacterial community composition and dissolved organic matter utilization under base flow and drought conditions in a Mediterranean river. Our results indicated that sediment microbial communities were affected by dissolved organic matter quality and origin along the river continuum. In headwaters the potential degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose was greater (i.e., higher β-glucosidase and β-xylosidase activities), suggesting higher microbial utilization of allochthonous detritus from terrestrial origin. Conversely, the accumulation and transport of more recalcitrant compounds (i.e., decrease in the recalcitrant index) became potentially relevant downstream. Furthermore, discharge fluctuations had clear effects on bacterial community composition and dissolved organic matter use. The hydrological fragmentation of the river continuum during drought period generated sediment microhabitats dominated by gamma and delta-Proteobacteria, with a greater potential capacity to degrade a wide range of compounds, particularly nitrogen containing moieties. During base flow conditions, we observed a higher occurrence of alpha-Proteobacteria and a greater potential use of more recalcitrant carbon compounds, mostly of terrestrial origin. Overall, our findings suggest an upstream-downstream longitudinal transition of sediment microbial communities that rely on allochthonous to autochthonous dissolved organic matter, and a shift toward autochthonous dissolved organic matter reliance during drought.

Uncertainties exist regarding the magnitude of in situ dissolved organic matter (DOM) processing in lotic systems. In addition, little is known about the effects of extreme hydrological events on in-stream DOM retention or release during downriver transport. This study quantified the net in-stream retention/release efficiencies (η) of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and its humic and protein-like fluorescent fractions along a Mediterranean river during drought, baseflow and flood conditions. High performance size exclusion chromatography was used to describe the apparent size distributions of the humic and protein-like DOM moieties. A snapshot mass balance allowed estimating the η values of DOC and humic and protein-like fractions. Significant DOM net retention (η < 0) was detected during the drought condition and the protein-like fraction was more retained than the humic-like fraction and bulk DOC. In addition, small substances were more efficiently retained than larger substances. DOC retention decreased under baseflow conditions, but it remained significant. The humic and protein-like net efficiencies exhibited high variability, but the net retention were not significant. From a longitudinal perspective, the entire fluvial corridor contributed net retention of DOC and humic and protein-like moieties net retention during drought condition. In contrast, net retention/release efficiencies exhibited spatial variability during baseflow condition. The flood preferentially mobilized large size DOM molecules and the fluvial corridor behaved as a homogeneous passive DOM (η = 0) conduit. This research highlights the relevance of hydrological extreme events on the magnitude of DOM retention/release mass balance and emphasizes the need to perform measurements during these conditions to quantify the impact of fluvial corridors on DOM fate and transport This research is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) (CGL2011-30151-C02 and CGL2014-5876-C3-R) and European Community 7th Framework Programme (No. 603629- ENV-2013-6.2.1-Globaqua)

In the Arctic, climate changes contribute to enhanced mobilization of organic matter in streams. Microbial extracellular enzymes are important mediators of stream organic matter processing, but limited information is available on enzyme processes in this remote area. Here, we studied the variability of microbial extracellular enzyme activity in high-Arctic fluvial biofilms. We evaluated 12 stream reaches in Northeast Greenland draining areas exhibiting different geomorphological features with contrasting contents of soil organic matter to cover a wide range of environmental conditions. We determined stream nitrogen, phosphorus, and dissolved organic carbon concentrations, quantified algal biomass and bacterial density, and characterized the extracellular enzyme activities involved in catalyzing the cleavage of a range of organic matter compounds (e.g., β-glucosidase, phosphatase, β-xylosidase, cellobiohydrolase, and phenol oxidase). We found significant differences in microbial organic matter utilization among the study streams draining contrasting geomorphological features, indicating a strong coupling between terrestrial and stream ecosystems. Phosphatase and phenol oxidase activities were higher in solifluction areas than in alluvial areas. Besides dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen availability was the main driver controlling enzyme activities in the high-Arctic, which suggests enhanced organic matter mineralization at increased nutrient availability. Overall, our study provides novel information on the controls of organic matter usage by high-Arctic stream biofilms, which is of high relevance due to the predicted increase of nutrient availability in high-Arctic streams in global climate change scenarios.

Organic micro-contaminants (OMCs) enter in freshwaters and interact with other contaminants such as carbon nanoparticles, becoming a problem of unknown consequences for river ecosystems. Carbon nanoparticles (as fullerenes C60) are good adsorbents of organic contaminants and their interaction can potentially affect their toxicity to river biofilms. We tested the C60 interactions with selected OMCs and their effects on river biofilms in different short-term experiments. In these, river biofilms were exposed to C60 and three OMCs (triclosan, diuron, or venlafaxine) and their respective mixtures with fullerenes (C60 + each OMC). The effects were evaluated on structural, molecular, and functional descriptors of river biofilms. Our results showed that C60 did not cause toxic effects in river biofilms, whereas diuron and triclosan significantly affected the heterotrophic and phototrophic components of biofilms and venlafaxine affected only the phototrophic component. The joint exposure of C60 with venlafaxine was not producing differences with respect to the former response of the toxicant, but the overall response was antagonistic (i.e., decreased toxicity) with diuron, and synergistic (i.e., increased toxicity) with triclosan. We suggest that differences in the toxic responses could be related to the respective molecular structure of each OMC, to the concentration proportion between OMC and C60, and to the possible competition between C60 pollutants on blocking the receptors of the biological cell membranes. We conclude that the presence of C60 at low concentrations modified the toxicity of OMC to river biofilms. These interactions should therefore be considered when predicting toxicity of OMC in river ecosystems. © 2018 Freixa, Acuña, Gutierrez, Sanchís, Santos, Rodriguez-Mozaz, Farré, Barceló and Sabater., We would like to thank Ferran Romero for his help in the molecular analysis, Lorenzo Proia for his help in using MicroResp technique, and Maria Casellas for laboratory assistance.

Large variability in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) uptake rates has been reported for headwater streams, but the causes of this variability are still not well understood. Here we assessed acetate uptake rates across 11 European streams comprising different ecoregions by using whole-reach pulse acetate additions. We evaluated the main climatic and biogeochemical drivers of acetate uptake during two seasonal periods. Our results show a minor influence of sampling periods but a strong effect of climate and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition on acetate uptake. In particular, mean annual precipitation explained half of the variability of the acetate uptake velocities (Vf(Acetate)) across streams. Temperate streams presented the lowest Vf(Acetate), together with humic-like DOM and the highest stream respiration rates. In contrast, higher Vf(Acetate) were found in semiarid streams, with protein-like DOM, indicating a dominance of reactive, labile compounds. This, together with lower stream respiration rates and molar ratios of DOC to nitrate, suggests a strong C limitation in semiarid streams, likely due to reduced inputs from the catchment. Overall, this study highlights the interplay of climate and DOM composition and its relevance to understand the biogeochemical mechanisms controlling DOC uptake in streams.Plain Language Summary Headwater streams receive and degrade organic carbon and nutrients from the surrounding catchments. That degradation can be assessed by measuring the uptake of simple compounds of carbon or nitrogen such as acetate or nitrate. Here we determine the variability in acetate and nitrate uptake rates across headwater streams and elucidate the mechanisms behind that variability. The balance between nutrients, the composition of the organic materials present in the streams, and the climatic background is at interplay.

We examined how wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) inputs affect fluvial biofilm functioning and structure developing on river surface sediments in two different reaches characterized by different anthropogenic pressures. The upper reach includes one site before and one after Palautordera WWTP (Pref and P, respectively); the lower reach includes one site before and one after Tordera WWTP (Tref and T, respectively). We performed an ex situ translocation experiment which resulted in four treatments (Pref-P, Pref-T, Tref-T, Tref-P) and in three different impact grades according to a translocation gradient defined by water chemical changes between sites, being Tref-T the lowest translocation gradient, Pref-P and Tref-P the medium translocation gradient, and Pref-T the highest translocation gradient. After receiving WWTP inputs, upper reach communities (Pref-P and Pref-T treatments) had a decrease in live bacteria and an inhibition of extracellular enzyme activities, while lower reach communities (Tref-T and Tref-P treatments) showed an increase of enzyme activities. Treatments with the highest and lowest translocation gradients resulted in different metabolic fingerprints. Results suggest that the origin and sensitivity of the receiving community determines its functional response and also reinforce the idea that the impact level is an influential aspect to consider when analyzing community responses to anthropogenic impacts This work has been performed in the framework of projects FLUMED-HOTSPOTS (CGL2011-30151-C02) and FUNSTREAM (CGL2014-58760-C3-R) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness

espanolLos ecosistemas fluviales tienen un papel relevante en los ciclos biogeoquimicos globales, ya que procesan el material de la cuenca y lo transportan rio abajo. Sin embargo, los factores que afectan al metabolismo, especialmente aquellos que actuan en una escala espacial mas amplia, todavia no se conocen completamente. Ademas, el metabolismo fluvial puede variar a causa de cambios hidrologicos relacionados con la estacionalidad; lo que tambien hace importante incluir la variabilidad temporal para entender el funcionamiento de los rios. Mediante el uso de un experimento distribuido y coordinado, estudiamos diez rios de cabecera localizados a lo largo de cinco ecoregiones europeas durante verano y otono del 2014. Se midio la magnitud y la variabilidad de la produccion primaria bruta (PPB) y la respiracion ecosistemica (RE) mediante el metodo de canal abierto. Asi mismo, se examinaron los factores climaticos, hidrologico s y fisico-quimicos que potencialmente pueden afectar las tasas metabolicas fl uviales. Las tasas diarias de metabolismo fluvial variaron considerablemente entre rios, con valores de PPB de entre 0.06 a 4.33 g O2 m–2 dia–1, y de RE de entre 0.72 a 14.20 g O2 m–2 dia–1. Todos los rios fueron altamente heterotroficos (P/R EnglishStreams play a key role in the global biogeochemical cycles, processing material from adjacent terrestrial systems and transporting it downstream. However, the drivers of stream metabolism, especially those acting at broad spatial scales, are still not well understood. Moreover, stream metabolism can be affected by hydrological changes associated with seasonality, and thus, assessing the temporality of metabolic rates is a key question to understand stream function. This study aims to analyse the geographical and temporal patterns in stream metabolism and to identify the main drivers regulating the wholeecosystem metabolic rates at local and regional scales. Using a coordinated distributed experiment, we studied ten headwaters streams located across five European ecoregions during summer and fall 2014.We characterized the magnitude and variability of gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) with the open-channel method. Moreover, we examined several climatic, geographical, hydrological, morphological, and physicochemical variables that can potentially control stream metabolic rates. Daily rates of stream metabolism varied considerately across streams, with GPP and ER ranging from 0.06 to 4.33 g O2 m–2 d–1 and from 0.72 to 14.20 g O2 m–2 d–1, respectively. All streams were highly heterotrophic (P/R

Understanding DOM transport and reactivity in rivers is essential to having a complete picture of the global carbon cycle. In this study, we explore the effects of hydrological variability and downstream transport on dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics in a Mediterranean river. We sampled the main stem of the river Tordera from the source to the sea, over a range of fifteen hydrological conditions including extreme events (flood and drought). By exploring spatial and temporal gradients of DOM fluorescence properties, river hydrology was found to be a significant predictor of DOM spatial heterogeneity. An additional space-resolved mass balance analysis performed on four contrasting hydrological conditions revealed that this was due to a shift in the biogeochemical function of the river. Flood conditions caused a conservative transport of DOM, generating a homogeneous, humic-like spatial profile of DOM quality. Lower flows induced a non-conservative, reactive transport of DOM, which enhanced the spatial heterogeneity of DOM properties. Moreover, the downstream evolution of DOM chemostatic behaviour revealed that the role of hydrology in regulating DOM properties increased gradually downstream, indicating an organised inter-dependency between the spatial and the temporal dimensions. Overall, our findings reveal that riverine DOM dynamics is in constant change owing to varying hydrological conditions, and emphasize that in order to fully understand the role of rivers in the global carbon cycle, it is necessary to take into account the full range of hydrological variability, from floods to droughts.

River sediment microorganisms have the capacity to metabolize, uptake and decompose flowing water organic materials, which strongly depend on their metabolic capabilities. The changes of microbial functional diversity in river sediments were analysed at five sites along the River Llobregat (NE Spain), using the Biolog EcoPlates incubation method. In parallel, we tested the potential application of the EcoPlates with preserved frozen samples (-80 °C). Although functional diversity (Shannon index) did not show significant differences, the specific carbon substrates that were used differed between sampling sites. The microbial community from the upstream site was the most active as shown by the highest respiratory activity and abundance of living bacteria, being able to metabolize more labile substrates. Downstream sediment communities showed a decrease in bacterial viability, respiration activity and EPS content, suggesting a less structured biofilm. The functional fingerprint analyses clearly distinguish the sediment microbial communities from the downstream most polluted sites, which showed a potential capacity to use more complex carbon substrates such as polymers. Freezing sediment samples is not recommended, since a significant reduction in the functional diversity and changes in the fingerprint patterns were observed together with a reduction of the number of substrates utilisation especially at two downstream sites. The Biolog EcoPlates appear to be useful for detecting changes in the microbial functional fingerprint in fresh sediments along a river pollution gradient This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness projects FLUMED-HOTSPOTS (CGL2011-30151-C02-01) and SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio CSD2009-00065)

This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, project FLUMED-HOTSPOTS (CGL2011-30151-C02-01). V. Diaz Villanueva participated in this project supported by FONCYT (Argentina) (PICT-2007-01747) and CONICET (PIP 114-201101-00304)

Infiltration through sediments is linked to complex biogeochemical processes occurring at small spatial scales, often leading to a progressive reduction in infiltration rates due to microbial growth and/or mechanical clogging. Unraveling the linkage between microbial dynamics and water infiltration in a heterogeneous medium is of concern in artificial recharge ponds and natural infiltration systems. We present an 84-day laboratory infiltration experiment that aims at studying the temporal variation of selected biogeochemical parameters at different depths along the infiltration path. The experimental setup consists of a 1.2. m high tank packed with a heterogeneous soil and instrumented with arrays of sensors as well as soil and liquid samplers. Results indicate that: (i) microbial processes are responsible for infiltration reduction, enhancing the spatially heterogeneous distribution of infiltration rates with time, (ii) bacteria and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are present at all monitored depths, indicating the potential for deep biological clogging, (iii) bacteria functioning and richness exhibit depth zonation after the system reaches a mature state and (iv) the retention curve changes towards highest saturation by the end of the experiment. The increase in water holding capacity is largest at depth, where the presence of EPS is noticeable. The reduction in time of the quantity of water infiltrating along the tank can only be accounted for with a truly interdisciplinary approach involving physical, chemical and biological processes The project has received founding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Program for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No. PCOFUND-GA-2008-226070. Financial support from the ICREA Academia Program and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, projects SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio CSD2009-00065), FLUMED-HOTSPOTS (CGL2011-30151-C02-01), and FEAR (CGL2012-38120), as well as the EU project MARSOL (FP7-ENV-2013, Grant No 619120) is also gratefully acknowledged

Biofilms are dynamic players in biogeochemical cycling in running waters and are subjected to environmental stressors like those provoked by climate change. We investigated whether a 2°C increase in flowing water would affect prokaryotic community composition and heterotrophic metabolic activities of biofilms grown under light or dark conditions. Neither light nor temperature treatments were relevant for selecting a specific bacterial community at initial phases (7-day-old biofilms), but both variables affected the composition and function of mature biofilms (28-day-old). In dark-grown biofilms, changes in the prokaryotic community composition due to warming were mainly related to rotifer grazing, but no significant changes were observed in functional fingerprints. In light-grown biofilms, warming also affected protozoan densities, but its effect on prokaryotic density and composition was less evident. In contrast, heterotrophic metabolic activities in light-grown biofilms under warming showed a decrease in the functional diversity towards a specialized use of several carbohydrates. Results suggest that prokaryotes are functionally redundant in dark biofilms but functionally plastic in light biofilms. The more complex and self-serving light-grown biofilm determines a more buffered response to temperature than dark-grown biofilms. Despite the moderate increase in temperature of only 2°C, warming conditions drive significant changes in freshwater biofilms, which responded by finely tuning a complex network of interactions among microbial populations within the biofilm matrix.

Este artículo contiene 14 páginas, 3 figuras., Research in limnology is nurtured by the work of many fascinating and passionate women, who have contributed enormously to our understanding of inland waters. Female limnologists have promoted and established the bases of our knowledge about inland waters and fostered the need of protecting the values of those ecosystems. However, on numerous occasions, their contribution to the advancement of limnology has not been duly recognized. Here, we review the presence of women in limnology through the history of the discipline: from the pioneers who contributed to the origins to present day' developments. We aim at visibilizing those scientists and establish them as role models. We also analyze in a simple and illustrative way the current situation of women in limnology, the scientific barriers they must deal with, and their future prospects. Multiple aspects fostering the visibility of a scientist, such as their presence in conferences, awards, or representation in societal or editorial boards show a significant gap, with none of those aspects showing a similar visibility of women and men in limnology. This article raises awareness of the obstacles that women in limnology faced and still face, and encourages to embrace models of leadership, scientific management, and assessment of research performance far from those commonly established., Núria Catal an was funded from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 839709. Anna Freixa was funded by MCIN/AEI through the Juan de la Cierva program (IJC2019-039181-I). Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano was supported by a Juan de la Cierva-Incorporaci on fellowship (IJC2019-041601-I). Gabriela Onandía was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF within the Collaborative Project “Bridging in Biodiversity Science-BIBS” (01LC1501A-H). Anna Lupon was funded by the Government of Catalonia and the European Commission through the program Beatriu de Pin os (BP-2018-00082).

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Biofouling on 2018, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/08927014.2017.1423474 Two non-destructive techniques, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and planar optode (VisiSens imaging), were combined to relate the fine-scale spatial structure of biofilm components to real-time images of oxygen decay in aquatic biofilms. Both techniques were applied to biofilms grown for seven days at contrasting light and temperature (10/20°C) conditions. The geo-statistical analyses of CLSM images indicated that biofilm structures consisted of small (~100 µm) and middle sized (~101 µm) irregular aggregates. Cyanobacteria and EPS (extracellular polymeric substances) showed larger aggregate sizes in dark grown biofilms while, for algae, aggregates were larger in light-20°C conditions. Light-20°C biofilms were most dense while 10°C biofilms showed a sparser structure and lower respiration rates. There was a positive relationship between the number of pixels occupied and the oxygen decay rate. The combination of optodes and CLMS, taking advantage of geo-statistics, is a promising way to relate biofilm architecture and metabolism at the micrometric scale.

Water flowing through hyporheic river sediments or artificial recharge facilities promotes the development of microbial communities with sediment depth. We performed an 83-day mesocosm infiltration experiment, to study how microbial functions (e.g., extracellular enzyme activities and carbon substrate utilization) are affected by sediment depth (up to 50. cm) and different oxygen concentrations. Results indicated that surface sediment layers were mainly colonized by microorganisms capable of using a wide range of substrates (although they preferred to degrade carbon polymeric compounds, as indicated by the higher β-glucosidase activity). In contrast, at a depth of 50. cm, the microbial community became specialized in using fewer carbon substrates, showing decreased functional richness and diversity. At this depth, microorganisms picked nitrogenous compounds, including amino acids and carboxyl acids. After the 83-day experiment, the sediment at the bottom of the tank became anoxic, inhibiting phosphatase activity. Coexistence of aerobic and anaerobic communities, promoted by greater physicochemical heterogeneity, was also observed in deeper sediments. The presence of specific metabolic fingerprints under oxic and anoxic conditions indicated that the microbial community was adapted to use organic matter under different oxygen conditions. Overall the heterogeneity of oxygen concentrations with depth and in time would influence organic matter metabolism in the sediment tank This work has been performed in the framework of project SCARCE Consolider-Ingenio 2010 program (reference CSD2009-00065). A. F. benefited from a grant (FI-DGR 2013) from the Catalan Government. X. S. acknowledges support from ICREA Academia. D. F-G acknowledges the financial support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science through project FEAR (CGL2012-38120). AM R. acknowledges the financial support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through project FLUMED-HOTSPOTS (CGL2011-30151-C02). SR acknowledges the support of the Provincia Autonoma di Trento and the European Commission. This project has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no PCOFUND-GA-2008-226070. We also thank anonymous reviewers for their suggestions