Atmospheric methane is a potent greenhouse gas that plays a major role in controlling the Earth's climate. The causes of the renewed increase of methane concentration since 2007 are uncertain given the multiple sources and complex biogeochemistry. Here, we present a meta-data analysis of methane fluxes from all major natural, impacted and human-made aquatic ecosystems. Our revised bottom-up global aquatic methane emissions combine diffusive, ebullitive and plant-mediated and/or fluxes from several sediment-water-air interfaces. We emphasize the high variability of methane fluxes within and between aquatic ecosystems and a positively skewed distribution of empirical data, making global estimates sensitive to statistical assumptions and sampling design. We find aquatic ecosystems contribute (median) 41% or (mean) 53% of total global methane emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources. We show that methane emissions increase from natural to impacted aquatic ecosystems, and from coastal to freshwater ecosystems. We argue that aquatic emissions will likely increase due to urbanization, eutrophication and positive climate-feedbacks, and suggest changes in land-use management as potential mitigation strategies to reduce aquatic methane emissions. Main text:Methane (CH4) is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2), accounting for 16 to 25% of atmospheric warming to date 1,2 . Atmospheric methane nearly tripled since pre-industrial times with a steady rise between 1984 and 2000 (8.4 ± 0.6 ppb yr -1 ) 3 , little or no growth between 2000 and 2006 (0.5 ± 0.5 ppb yr -1 ) 3 , and a renewed growth to present day (2007 to 2020: 7.3 ± 0.6 ppb yr -1 ) 3-6 . Whether the renewed increase is caused by emissions from anthropogenic or natural sources, or by a decline in the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere, or a combination of all three factors remains unresolved [7][8][9] . Depending on the approach used, total Rivers (ice-corrected) 5.8 (1.8-21.0) 30.5 ± 17.1 This study Lakes (ice-cover, ice-melt corrected) < 0.001 km 2 21.2 (9.1-53.5) 54.5 ± 48.5 This study 0.001 -0.01 km 2 13.2 (5.6-33.1) 31.1 ± 23.7 This study 0.01 -0.1 km 2 4.4 (1.4-16.7) 22.4 ± 18.4 This study 0.1 -1 km 2 3.0 (1.1-8.0) 9.9 ± 7.0 This study > 1 km 2 14.0 (6.0-31.0) 33.0 ± 45.0 This study All lakes 55.8 (23.3-142.3) 150.9 ± 73.0 This study Reservoirs (ice-cover, ice-melt corrected) < 1 km 2 0.4 (0.1-1.3) 2.4 ± 4.7 This study > 1 km 2 14.7 (8.7-27.1) 22.0 ± 6.4 This study All reservoirs 15.1 (8.8-28.4) 24.3 ± 8.0 This study Freshwater wetlands 150.1 (138.3-164.6) 148.6 ± 15.2 Saunois et al. 11 (A) Freshwater aquaculture ponds 4.4 (0.4-7.9) 14.0 ± 18.8 This study Rice cultivation 29.9 (24.9-32.1) 29.8 ± 6.7 Saunois et al. 11 (B) Total inland waters 261.0 (197.5-396.2) 398.1 ± 79.4 This study Estuaries 0.23 (0.02-0.91) 0.90 ± 0.29 This study Coastal wetlands Saltmarshes 0.18 (0.02-0.89) 2.00 ± 1.51 This study Mangroves 0.21 (0.06-0.77) 1.46 ± 0.91 This study Seagrasses 0.13 (0.07-0.21) 0.18 ± 0.19 This study Tidal flats 0.17 (0.04...

Inland waters, including streams and rivers, are active components of the global carbon cycle. Despite the large areal extent of the world’s mountains, the role of mountain streams for global carbon fluxes remains elusive. Using recent insights from gas exchange in turbulent streams, we found that areal CO2 evasion fluxes from mountain streams equal or exceed those reported from tropical and boreal streams, typically regarded as hotspots of aquatic carbon fluxes. At the regional scale of the Swiss Alps, we present evidence that emitted CO2 derives from lithogenic and biogenic sources within the catchment and delivered by the groundwater to the streams. At a global scale, we estimate the CO2 evasion from mountain streams to 167 ± 1.5 Tg C yr−1, which is high given their relatively low areal contribution to the global stream and river networks. Our findings shed new light on mountain streams for global carbon fluxes.

The term “ecosystem engineering” emerged in the 1990s and is commonly used to refer to the activities of larger organisms like beavers and trees in rivers and streams. The focus on larger organisms may be motivated by their more visible effects on the environment. However, while it may be intuitive to suggest that the bigger the organism the bigger its potential engineering effects, there may be microscale organisms who through their number rather than their size can act simultaneously to result in significant impacts. This paper considers biofilms as a candidate ecosystem engineer. It is well known that biofilms play an important role in enriching the sediment matrix of nutrients and in stabilizing sediments. Biofilms may be critical in increasing the habitability of the benthic substratum. In this paper, we consider their potential role in the ontogeny of ecosystems in recently deglaciated terrain. We show how by changing sediment stoichiometry, decreasing sediment erodibility, and reducing surface sediment permeability they may promote primary succession on lateral, incised terraces, which are less perturbed compared with the main active floodplain. This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change

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Viruses drive microbial diversity, function and evolution and influence important biogeochemical cycles in aquatic ecosystems. Despite their relevance, we currently lack an understanding of their potential impacts on stream biofilm structure and function. This is surprising given the critical role of biofilms for stream ecosystem processes. Currently, the study of viruses in stream biofilms is hindered by the lack of an optimized protocol for their extraction, concentration and purification. Here, we evaluate a range of methods to separate viral particles from stream biofilms, and to concentrate and purify them prior to DNA extraction and metagenome sequencing. Based on epifluorescence microscopy counts of viral-like particles (VLP) and DNA yields, we optimize a protocol including treatment with tetrasodium pyrophosphate and ultra-sonication to disintegrate biofilms, tangential-flow filtration to extract and concentrate VLP, followed by ultracentrifugation in a sucrose density gradient to isolate VLP from the biofilm slurry. Viromes derived from biofilms sampled from three different streams were dominated by Siphoviridae, Myoviridae and Podoviridae and provide first insights into the viral diversity of stream biofilms. Our protocol optimization provides an important step towards a better understanding of the ecological role of viruses in stream biofilms.

Viruses drive microbial diversity, function and evolution and influence important biogeochemical cycles in aquatic ecosystems. Despite their relevance, we currently lack an understanding of their potential impacts on stream biofilm structure and function. This is surprising given the critical role of biofilms for stream ecosystem processes. Currently, the study of viruses in stream biofilms is hindered by the lack of an optimized protocol for their extraction, concentration and purification. Here, we evaluate a range of methods to separate viral particles from stream biofilms, and to concentrate and purify them prior to DNA extraction and metagenome sequencing. Based on epifluorescence microscopy counts of viral-like particles (VLP) and DNA yields, we optimize a protocol including treatment with tetrasodium pyrophosphate and ultra-sonication to disintegrate biofilms, tangential-flow filtration to extract and concentrate VLP, followed by ultracentrifugation in a sucrose density gradient to isolate VLP from the biofilm slurry. Viromes derived from biofilms sampled from three different streams were dominated by Siphoviridae, Myoviridae and Podoviridae and provide first insights into the viral diversity of stream biofilms. Our protocol optimization provides an important step towards a better understanding of the ecological role of viruses in stream biofilms.

&lt;p&gt;Biofilms have received great attention in the last few decades including their potential contribution to carbon fluxes and ecosystem engineering in aquatic ecosystems. Quantifying the spatial distribution of biofilms and their dynamics through time is a critical challenge. Satellite imagery is one solution, and can provide multi- and hyper-spectral data but not necessarily the spatial resolution that such studies need. Multi- and hyper-spectral data sets may be of particular value for not simply detecting the presense/absence of biofilms but also indicators of primary productivity such as chlorophyll-a concentrations. Spatial resolution is sensor quality dependent, but also controlled by sensor elevation above the ground. Hence, higher resolutions can be achieved either by using a very expensive sensor or by decreasing the distance between the target area and the sensor itself. To date, sensor technology has advanced to a point where multi- or even hyper-spectral cameras can be easily transported by UAVs, potentially yielding wide-range spectral information at unprecedented spatial resolutions. That said, such set ups have often exorbitant costs (several 1000s of US$) that few research institutions can afford or, due to the high probability of sensor lost, are risky to use. This is particularly true for glacier forefields where low air temperatures, dust and sudden wind gusts can easily damage both UAV and sensor components.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this paper we test the performance of visible band ratios for mapping both biofilms and chlorophyll-a concentrations in an alpine glacier forefield characterized by a well-developed and heterogeneous (kryal, krenal and rhithral) stream system. The paper shows that low-cost and consumer grade UAVs can be easily deployed in such extreme environments, delivering high temporal resolution datasets and with sufficient quality RGB images for photogrammetric (SfM-MVS) processing and post-processing image analysis (i.e., band ratios). This paper shows also that visible band ratios correlates with chlorophyll-a concentrations yielding reliable chlorophyll-a information of the forefield and at the centimetric scale. This in turn allows for precise identification of the environmental conditions that lead to both biofilm development and removal through perturbation.&lt;/p&gt;