Environmental Research Institute

The concept of the ecological niche, defined as the basic habitat requirements for a species, is central to understanding species geographic distributions and predicting their responses to environmental change. However, identifying the essential niche for large regional communities remains a challenge because niche axes can be "hidden" by the complexity of the underlying ecological processes. Here, applying advanced species distribution modelling to nationwide environmental DNA survey data, we identified hidden niche axes of the Japanese coastal fish community and investigated the response diversity to these axes. Our survey detected 1,220 coastal fish species. The hidden niche axes collectively explained most of the variation in fish biodiversity and revealed five biogeographic boundaries for the regional community. These niches of the Japanese fish community may primarily relate to several processes due to ocean currents, such as environmental filters, transport from source areas and dispersal barriers. We also found that the response diversity to niche axes was positively correlated with species richness, although local communities with particularly high response diversity were geographically biased. A better understanding of the niche axes of the regional ecological community should help to mitigate the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services caused by ongoing environmental change.

The sea is often seen as an empty and quiet place, and hence, an appealing location for wind farms and related installations. However, the sea is dynamic, there is a wealth of wildlife, and there are different users of the sea who can conflict with each other. Offshore wind farms must go through planning applications in which a range of concerns have to be addressed for each individual wind farm. There are the obvious concerns, such as visual impacts and risks to birds, bats, fish, and sea mammals, but there is a range of other issues in need of attention. This document presents 10 overlooked and underestimated impacts on the health of the natural environment, from the smallest plankton to the great whales, and the human population. It appears that offshore wind farms are being consented before new models and measurements have become available to assess their impact. Also, recent experiences with terroristic, militaristic and criminal attacks on the offshore wind industry, and disputes between offshore wind farm developers have given reason to reflect. All parties involved in the wind industry are seen to be learning as it goes at the rate at which it is deployed on a large scale. Current impact assessments are for each individual wind farm, ignoring cumulative effects of multiple large offshore wind farms. There will be many unforeseen consequences and what is acceptable today, may not be in the not-too-distant future. • 10 Overlooked and underestimated impacts of offshore wind farms are researched. • Knowledge gaps in planning applications of offshore wind farms are identified. • The pace of development of large offshore wind farms is queried.

The extensive urban application of neonicotinoid insecticides (NNIs) has resulted in large-scale environmental contamination via rainfall runoff transport. However, their washoff dynamics, driving factors, and resulting ecological risks during rainfall events remain poorly understood. This study addresses this gap by developing a hybrid model that integrates a gated recurrent unit (GRU)-based module for drainage outlet rainfall-runoff prediction with a physical process-based module for NNIs pollution modeling in China’s Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The model successfully simulated rainfall-runoff processes and NNI transport dynamics, demonstrating that an average of 2.49% of applied NNIs entered into waterways through drainage outlets, with thiamethoxam (THM) exhibiting the highest washoff ratio and acetamiprid (ACE) exhibiting the lowest. Spatially, NNI concentrations and washoff rates were highest in the GBA’s peripheral regions and decreased toward the Pearl River Estuary. Rainfall intensity, maximum rainfall, and maximum runoff drive NNIs washoff, while pesticide use and runoff volume determine spatial concentration distributions. High-risk proportions increase with rainfall intensity, while urban areas with mountainous as well as significant elevation changes have a high risk of NNIs. This research provides the first comprehensive framework for assessing NNI pollution at an urban agglomeration scale, offering critical insights for sustainable pesticide management in rapidly urbanizing watersheds.

Spent lees, the acidic, copper-rich liquid industrial effluent from the second distillation step of whisky production, present a significant environmental management challenge. This study explores the use of biochar-based materials as a low-cost, sustainable treatment to reduce dissolved copper (dissCu) and neutralise acidity. Three biochar types were assessed: raw biochar (RB), metal-modified biochar (MMB), and a biochar–mineral composite (BMC). RB was produced from softwood pyrolysed at ∼500 °C, while MMB was prepared by incorporating Fe, Mn, and Mg salts into the biochar matrix. BMC was generated by co-carbonising orchard residues with manure and digestate, resulting in a mineral-rich structure. Both MMB and BMC significantly elevated pH and removed dissCu, with performance improving at 4–8 g/L doses. Ecotoxicity testing using Lepidium sativum (germination index) and Escherichia coli (growth inhibition) showed marked reductions in toxicity in treated effluents, particularly at higher doses of MMB and BMC. Surface and structural analyses (SEM, XRD, FTIR, XPS) confirmed that metal oxides and mineral phases enhanced pH buffering and metal adsorption capacity, supported by point of zero charge (pHpzc) measurements. This is one of very few studies to apply engineered biochars for the treatment of Scotch whisky effluent. By integrating chemical removal data with rapid ecotoxicity screening, the study offers a novel and practical framework for evaluating treatment performance. These findings demonstrate the potential of modified biochars as scalable, effective solutions for distillery wastewater and other agro-industrial waste streams. • Oxide-enriched biochars neutralised acidity and immobilised copper in wastewater. • These biochars also mitigated plant stress caused by toxic whisky effluents. • Surface analyses revealed strong Cu binding on the engineered biochar surfaces. • Biochar-based treatments offer a promising solution for whisky wastewater effluent management.

Both anthropogenic activities and natural sources can affect the atmospheric mercury concentrations; however, their contributions are not accurately quantified. Here we present online measurements of total gaseous mercury (TGM) at a high-altitude mountaintop (1545 m asl) in East China. Statistically significant differences in TGM concentrations were observed during the cold season (2.35 ± 0.65 ng m–3), the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics (2.09 ± 0.43 ng m–3), and the warm season (3.61 ± 1.78 ng m–3). Most air pollutants generally decreased from cold to warm seasons, whereas TGM concentrations clearly increased with rising temperatures. A trained generalized additive model revealed that anthropogenic emissions dominated TGM variability in the cold season, while the east-south wind directions and temperature-driven natural sources played the leading role in the warm season in association with long-range transport. Scenario analyses replacing individual variables in the warm season indicated that contributions from anthropogenic emissions slightly decreased, while natural emissions associated with elevated temperature increased TGM by 0.83 ng m–3 on average, accounting for ∼23% of total TGM concentration. Our findings highlight the significant role of natural source emissions, which are nonlinearly driven by temperature, in the variability of atmospheric mercury in the upper air of developed regions in the context of declining anthropogenic emissions and global warming.

Understanding the emission sources and environmental footprints of perfluorinated compounds (PFASs) is essential for tracing their pervasive presence in the environment. This study aims to comprehensively assess the emissions and footprints of 10 commonly reported PFASs in China from production to their final release into the sea. In 2022, China produced 120 t target PFASs, with 104 t utilized in secondary industrial production. One-third of those applied PFASs emit into the environment primarily from industrial processes. Domestic use resulted in the emission of 4.21 t of PFASs, half of which was sourced from wastewater treatment plants. River water received 57.6% of the total PFAS emissions, with 11.4% eventually flowing into China’s surrounding seas. During 2015–2022, China experienced a cumulative PFAS emission of 467 t, with 40.3 t emitted into neighboring seas, predominantly into the Bohai and East China Seas. The spatial distributions of PFAS emissions and pollution levels were consistent with China’s topographical three-tiered stepped lines. Economic and topographical factors strongly influenced the footprint processes and transport patterns of PFASs into the ocean. This study traces and quantifies the major PFAS pathways from production to discharge into the sea, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to reduce PFAS emissions and protect ecosystems.

Abstract Renewable energy development is rapidly increasing in efforts to mitigate climate change. Whilst the impact of individual projects on biological diversity may be limited, there is a risk of significant cumulative impacts across projects, resulting in a conflict between our needs for renewable energy and to preserve biodiversity. A range of approaches have been developed for cumulative impact assessment (CIA). Biologically realistic approaches advocated in the peer‐reviewed literature have challenging data requirements and are more complex than those widely used by practitioners and regulators to inform assessments. Projected cumulative impacts are approaching levels where future development of the industry is at risk, with concerns that this is driven by an overly precautionary approach, a direct consequence of insufficient data. A ‘race to submission’, whereby developers aim to submit their assessments as early as possible in an attempt to avoid being the project that triggers an unacceptable cumulative impact, exacerbates this problem. This leads to situations whereby consented projects may not reflect the optimal balance between minimising biodiversity impacts and delivery of renewable energy targets. Solution. There is an urgent need to shift the focus of CIA from the anthropogenic activities, which drive the need for assessments, to the populations concerned. This will require international agreement on minimum standards for robust assessment and coordination of data collection. A failure to achieve this may mean that delivering the renewable energy required to minimise the impacts of climate change in an ecologically sustainable manner becomes a regulatory impossibility.