TY - JOUR TI - Bivalve δ15N isoscapes provide a baseline for urban nitrogen footprint at the edge of a World Heritage coral reef AU - Thibault, M. AU - Duprey, N. AU - Gillikin, D. P. AU - Thébault, J. AU - Douillet, P. AU - Chauvaud, L. AU - Amice, E. AU - Munaron, J. M. AU - Lorrain, A. T2 - Marine Pollution Bulletin AB - Eutrophication is a major threat to world's coral reefs. Here, we mapped the distribution of the anthropogenic nitrogen footprint around Noumea, a coastal city surrounded by 15,743 km(2) of UNESCO listed reefs. We measured the delta N-15 signature of 348 long-lived benthic bivalves from 12 species at 27 sites and interpolated these to generate a delta N-15 isoscape. We evaluated the influence of water residence times on nitrogen enrichment and predicted an eutrophication risk at the UNESCO core area. Nitrogen isoscapes revealed a strong spatial gradient (4.3 to 11.7 parts per thousand) from the outer lagoon to three highly exposed bays of Noumea. Several protected reefs would benefit from an improved management of wastewater outputs, while one bay in the UNESCO core area may suffer a high eutrophication risk in the future. Our study reinforces the usefulness of using benthic animals to characterize the anthropogenic N-footprint and provide a necessary baseline for both ecologists and policy makers. DA - 2020/03// PY - 2020 DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110870 DP - Web of Science VL - 152 SP - 110870 J2 - Mar. Pollut. Bull. LA - English SN - 0025-326X UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X19310264 KW - ACL KW - Bivalve KW - CNRS KW - Coral reefs KW - DISCOVERY KW - Eutrophication KW - Heritage sites KW - Heritage sites KW - Isoscape KW - SUD KW - UBO KW - decline KW - delta N-15 KW - filter-feeders KW - food security KW - great-barrier-reef KW - hydrodynamic time parameters KW - lagoon KW - models KW - nutrient enrichment KW - sewage pollution KW - stable-isotopes KW - δN ER -