Abordagem funcional no estudo da comunidade de ciliados em uma estação de tratamento de esgoto combinada UASB-lodo ativado

Studies using a functional approach have been growing in the past years, however, there are no studies in this scope utilizing the ciliated microeukaryotes community located in biological wastewater treatment plants. This research is focused on applying a functional approach to the study of the ciliated protists community located in a wastewater treatment plant that operated in a combined Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB)-activeted sludge system, with the following purposes: 1 investigate the composition and the taxonomic and functional diversity of the ciliated community, as well as presenting data of its time dynamics; 2 investigate the correlation between the indices used in taxonomic and functional diversity; 3 assess the connection between composition and the functional traits of the ciliated community and the environmental conditions; and 4 investigate which traits of the functional diversity could be used as indicators of the wastewater treatment plants' efficiency. 21 ciliated species were registered from 37 samples collected, a lower number when compared to other plants, although expected considering that it is a combined system of anaerobic followed by aerobic (UASB + activated sludge). Due to this, it is identified the occurrence of a phenomenon similar to an environmental filter, creating a temporary functional composition more homogenous than the taxonomic composition, considering that several species have the same functional trait. The relations between the indexes were significant between the functional and taxonomic diversities, indicating that the community is functionally redundant and therefore presents a niche complementarity. This redundancy indicates a stable system, confirmed by the plant's constant high efficiency in removing pollutant components. The community's functional profile was the expected for the wastewater treatment plants, represented by flake-forming and bacterivores species. The flake-forming trait is a specific and important trait in wastewater treatment plants with an innovative philosophy and with the possibility of being an important characteristic in understanding the system's efficiency. Future studies will broaden the knowledge on wastewater treatment systems and on the functional diversity in biological wastewater treatment systems, this being the first step towards the unprecedented application of this methodology in artificial ecosystems.Estudos utilizando abordagem funcional têm crescido nos últimos anos, entretanto, não existem estudos neste âmbito usando a comunidade de microeucariotos ciliados em estações de tratamento biológico de esgotos. O presente trabalho possui como objetivo geral aplicar uma abordagem funcional no estudo da comunidade de protistas ciliados em uma estação de tratamento de esgoto que opera em sistema UASB com lodos ativados como pós-tratamento e como objetivos específicos: 1 investigar a composição e diversidade taxonômica e funcional da comunidade de ciliados, bem como apresentar dados de sua dinâmica temporal; 2 investigar a correlação entre os índices usados na diversidade taxonômica e funcional; 3 avaliar a relação entre a composição e os traços funcionais da comunidade de ciliados e as condições ambientais; e 4 investigar quais traços da diversidade funcional podem ser usados como indicadores da eficiência em ETE´s. Foram registradas 21 espécies de ciliados ao longo das 37 amostras coletadas, valor mais baixo quando comparado a outras estações, no entanto já esperado visto que se trata de um sistema combinado anaeróbio seguido de aeróbio (UASB+Lodos Ativados). Justamente por possuir esta conformação, há a ocorrência de um fenômeno entendido como filtro ambiental, proporcionando uma composição funcional temporalmente mais homogênea que aquela taxonômica, visto que diversas espécies possuem a mesma característica funcional. As relações entre os índices foram significativas entre as riquezas taxonômica e funcional, indicando que a comunidade é funcionalmente redundante e apresenta, dessa forma, uma complementaridade de nicho. E essa redundância indica um sistema estável, comprovado pela alta eficiência constante da estação em termos de remoção de poluentes. O perfil funcional da comunidade foi o esperado para estações de tratamento de esgoto, sendo representado por espécies bacterívoras e formadoras de floco, traço este específico e importante em ETE’s com caráter inovador e com possibilidade de ser uma importante característica para entendimento da eficiência do sistema. Estudos futuros irão ampliar o conhecimento sobre a diversidade funcional em sistemas de tratamento biológico de esgoto, sendo este um primeiro passo na aplicação inédita desta metodologia em ecossistemas artificiais.CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológic

Ciliate Communities Respond via Their Traits to a Wastewater Treatment Plant With a Combined UASB-Activated Sludge System

Assessing functional diversity of communities is an efficient method to link community composition to ecosystem quality. Still, studies using functional traits of microeukaryote ciliate communities in biological wastewater treatment plants are lacking. The present work explores the functional diversity of the ciliate protist community in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operating with a combined UASB-activated sludge system, and specifically to: 1) investigate the taxonomic and functional composition of the ciliate communities over time; 2) compare taxonomic and functional diversity indices with regard to its applicability in WWPS; 3) assess the relationship between the ciliate community's functional composition and the WWTPs temporal conditions; and 4) investigate the potential use of functional diversity as an indicator of WWTP efficiency. Totally, we recorded 21 ciliate species throughout 37 samplings. The number of species was low compared to other plants. Bacterivorous and flake-forming species were the main functional strategies found in the samples. The correlation between taxonomic and functional richness was significant, indicating a functionally redundant community. There was a correlation between the Simpson and Rao's quadratic entropy indexes suggesting that loss of taxonomic diversity leads to a loss of functional diversity. The homogeneity of the measured physical and chemical data led to functional homogenization and redundancy (homogenous CWM) of the ciliate community. The functional diversity is positively correlated with parameters of removal efficiency, indicating a promising application in WWTPs. Future studies will broaden knowledge on functional diversity in biological wastewater treatment systems, this being a first step with the unprecedented application of this methodology in artificial ecosystems.Peer reviewe

Rock n' Seeds: A database of seed functional traits and germination experiments from Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation

Advancing functional ecology depends fundamentally on the availability of data on reproductive traits, including those from tropical plants, which have been historically underrepresented in global trait databases. Although some valuable databases have been created recently, they are mainly restricted to temperate areas and vegetative traits such as leaf and wood traits. Here, we present Rock n' Seeds, a database of seed functional traits and germination experiments from Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation, recognized as outstanding centers of diversity and endemism. Data were compiled through a systematic literature search, resulting in 103 publications from which seed functional traits were extracted. The database includes information on 16 functional traits for 383 taxa from 148 genera, 50 families, and 25 orders. These 16 traits include two dispersal, six production, four morphological, two biophysical, and two germination traits-the major axes of the seed ecological spectrum. The database also provides raw data for 48 germination experiments, for a total of 10,187 records for 281 taxa. Germination experiments in the database assessed the effect of a wide range of abiotic and biotic factors on germination and different dormancy-breaking treatments. Notably, 8255 of these records include daily germination counts. This input will facilitate synthesizing germination data and using this database for a myriad of ecological questions. Given the variety of seed traits and the extensive germination information made available by this database, we expect it to be a valuable resource advancing comparative functional ecology and guiding seed-based restoration and biodiversity conservation in tropical megadiverse ecosystems. There are no copyright restrictions on the data; please cite this paper when using the current data in publications; also the authors would appreciate notification of how the data are used in publications