Animal board invited review: OneARK: Strengthening the links between animal production science and animal ecology.

Wild and farmed animals are key elements of natural and managed ecosystems that deliver functions such as pollination, pest control and nutrient cycling within the broader roles they play in contributing to biodiversity and to every category of ecosystem services. They are subjected to global changes with a profound impact on the natural range and viability of animal species, the emergence and spatial distribution of pathogens, land use, ecosystem services and farming sustainability. We urgently need to improve our understanding of how animal populations can respond adaptively and therefore sustainably to these new selective pressures. In this context, we explored the common points between animal production science and animal ecology to identify promising avenues of synergy between communities through the transfer of concepts and/or methodologies, focusing on seven concepts that link both disciplines. Animal adaptability, animal diversity (both within and between species), selection, animal management, animal monitoring, agroecology and viability risks were identified as key concepts that should serve the cross-fertilization of both fields to improve ecosystem resilience and farming sustainability. The need for breaking down interdisciplinary barriers is illustrated by two representative examples: i) the circulation and reassortment of pathogens between wild and domestic animals and ii) the role of animals in nutrient cycles, i.e. recycling nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon through, for example, contribution to soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Our synthesis identifies the need for knowledge integration techniques supported by programmes and policy tools that reverse the fragmentation of animal research toward a unification into a single Animal Research Kinship, OneARK, which sets new objectives for future science policy. At the interface of animal ecology and animal production science, our article promotes an effective application of the agroecology concept to animals and the use of functional diversity to increase resilience in both wild and farmed systems. It also promotes the use of novel monitoring technologies to quantify animal welfare and factors affecting fitness. These measures are needed to evaluate viability risk, predict and potentially increase animal adaptability and improve the management of wild and farmed systems, thereby responding to an increasing demand of society for the development of a sustainable management of systems.

Direct and indirect effects of multiple stressors on stream invertebrates across watershed, reach and site scales: A structural equation modelling better informing on hydromorphological impacts.

The purpose of our approach was to take into account the nested spatial scales driving stream functioning in the description of pressures/ecological status links by analysing the results of a hierarchical model. The development of this model has allowed us to answer the following questions: Does the consideration of the indirect links between anthropogenic pressures and stream ecological status modify the hierarchy of pressure types impacting benthic invertebrates? Do the different nested scales play different roles in the anthropogenic pressures/ecological status relationship? Does this model lead to better understanding of the specific role of hydromorphology in the evaluation of stream ecological status? To achieve that goal, we used the Partial Least Square (PLS) path modelling method to develop a structural model linking variables describing (i) land use and hydromorphological alterations at the watershed scale, (ii) hydromorphological alterations at the reach scale, (iii) nutrients-organic matter contamination levels at the site scale, and (iv) substrate characteristics at the sampling site scale, to explain variation in values of a macroinvertebrate-based multimetric index: the French I2M2. We have highlighted the importance of land use effects exerted on both hydromorphological and chemical characteristics of streams observed at finer scales and their subsequent indirect impact on stream ecological status. Hydromorphological alterations have an effect on the substrate mosaic structure and on the concentrations of nutrients and organic matter at site scale. This result implies that stream hydromorphology can have a major indirect effect on macroinvertebrate assemblages and that the hierarchy of impacts of anthropogenic pressures on stream ecological status generally described in the literature - often determining strategic restoration priorities - has to be re-examined. Finally, the effects of nutrients and organic matter on macroinvertebrate assemblages are lower than expected when all the indirect effects of land use and hydromorphological alterations are taken into account.

Trait-based structure of invertebrates along a gradient of sediment colmation: benthos versus hyporheos responses.

Streambed colmation by fine sediment, e.g. the deposition, accumulation and storage of fines in the substrate, is known to have severe effects on invertebrate assemblages in both the benthic and hyporheic zones but the changes in biological attributes of invertebrate assemblages related to colmation have never been considered simultaneously for these two zones. We studied the effects of colmation on the invertebrate assemblages of three rivers, testing a priori hypotheses on the biological attributes that should be more selected in communities subjected to different levels of colmation in both zones. Only the proportion of organisms with high fecundity increased and the proportion of small-sized organisms decreased along the colmation gradient in both zones simultaneously. As expected, a higher number of traits were significantly modified with colmation in the benthic vs. hyporheic assemblages. Most of the biological attributes impaired were different in the two zones. In the benthic zone, colmation mainly selected particular physiological or trophic characteristics of species and features related to their resistance or resilience capacities. In contrast, the morphological attributes of species were much more impaired by colmation in the hyporheic zone than in the benthic zone. In clogged benthic habitats, traits seemed to be more impaired by an increase in physico-chemical constraints (e.g. the reduction of oxygen availability) and a reduction of potential exchanges (including exchanges of food resources) due to a decline in stream bed conductivity. The morphological attributes of the hyporheic species were probably more influenced by changes in interstitial space characteristics. A potential indicator of the effects of colmation on river health may be based on the functional traits of benthic communities because they (i) satisfy the WFD recommendations, (ii) respond consistently along a colmation gradient and (iii) are comparable among assemblages even across ecoregions that differ in their taxonomic composition.

Assessment of sediment concentration and nutrient loads in effluents drained from extensively managed fishponds in France.

Expansion of aquaculture has increased concern over its environmental impact. The composition of effluents from intensive aquaculture is well documented, but few data on extensive aquaculture are available. During 12 draining operations, 523 water samples were collected downstream from six extensively-managed fishponds in northeastern France. Study ponds had surface areas of 2-620 ha and were managed for production of Cyprinids and Percids. Concentrations of total suspended solids, total phosphorus, and Kjeldahl nitrogen in effluents from the ponds were greatest during the final stage of draining. Loads of phosphorus were higher than those reported for effluents of more intensive aquaculture ponds in the USA, but the source of the potential pollutants was catchments and sediment rather than feeds and fertilizer. It will be necessary to reduce the water drawdown rate during the fishing stage and possibly implement other best management practices to prevent the TSS concentration from exceeding 1 g/L.