Short-term Losses Research Articles

The complex relationship between asset wealth, adaptation, and diversification in tropical fisheries

Marine small-scale fisheries are complex social and ecological systems that are currently pressurised by climate change, increasing demand for food, and expectation to sustain livelihoods. Species diversification and occupational diversification are often offered as adaptation strategies to increase the resilience of these fisheries to natural and economic shocks. However, little is known about the nature of species diversification within marine tropical fisheries. Based on 293 interviews with artisanal fishers from six coastal communities located at the isles of Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia, and Mainland Tanga in Tanzania - we assess if fishers with the highest level of species diversification are the most financially secure and able to adapt to changes in the fishing industry. By creating an Asset Wealth Index (AWI) based on a Multiple Correspondence Approach (MCA), we investigate the relative levels of adaptive capacity and fishery connectivity within the different regional wealth quartiles. We find that less wealthy fishers target fewer species, making them less able to absorb changes in management measures focused on species, area, and closures. Likewise, fishers with higher wealth scores and higher adaptive capacity are able to better absorb the short-term losses of fisheries closures when compared to those with lower wealth and adaptive scores reliant on higher levels of fishery connectivity.

Intellectual Property Rights, Technology Transfer and International Trade

I study the short- and long-term effects of regional trade agreements (RTA) with strict intellectual property (IP) provisions. An empirical analysis using gravity methods suggests that regions signing these agreements share more technology in the form of technology licensing following the year of enforcement. I set up a multi-country model with endogenous productivity through innovation and adoption to quantify the effect of such agreements on innovation, growth and welfare. Adopters pay royalties to innovators for the use of their technology; the model allows for various degrees of IP rights enforcement ranging from pure imitation to perfect enforcement of IP rights. An improvement of IP protection in exchange for market access increases welfare, growth and innovation in the world. Developed countries benefit from a higher return to innovation and a lower home trade share, accruing welfare gains both in the short and long term. Developing countries are impacted through three channels: (i) internal IP reforms increase the return to domestic innovators,(ii) lower trade costs increase profits from exports, and (ii) higher royalty payments reduce the return to adopters. A counterfactual exercise shows that while the first two forces dominate in the long run, there are short-term losses from a lower return to adoption.

Entry Timing as a Mixed Gamble in Cross-border Acquisition Waves: A study of Family Firms

We draw upon the mixed gamble perspective to investigate the entry timing decisions made by family firms in the context of cross-border acquisition (CBA) waves. We argue that family-controlled firms trade-off short-term SEW and financial losses in favor of long-term SEW and financial gains, while moving early in CBA waves. Findings suggest that family-controlled firms have a higher preference for early movement compared with nonfamily-controlled firms. Further, we show that founder’s presence on the board and acquirer’s superior performance amplifies the mixed gamble trade-offs, thereby strengthening the relationship between family control and early movement within CBA waves.

Short-Term Impacts of Harvesting Intensity on the Upper Soil Layers in High Karst Dinaric Fir-Beech Forests

The present study addresses the short-term effects of different harvest intensities under close-to-nature selective management on the upper soil layers in Slovenian and Bosnian Dinaric karst fir-beech forests. The different harvest intensities coincided with the single-tree and irregular shelterwood management, common in the region. The effect of harvesting intensity on the upper soil layers (Ol, Of, Ol and 0–10 cm mineral soil) was investigated by a repeated measurements experiment in Slovenia on 27 research plots in close-to nature managed forests. The properties of the upper layers (concentration of SOC and TN, C/N ratio, weights, BD and SOC stocks) were analyzed twice, before (2011) and after (2014) treatment of 50% and 100% harvest intensity in relation to the total standing growing stock of trees. As a control, we used no-treatment <20% harvesting intensity plots. To extend this experiment, we added three comparable plots from the Bosnian site: one in an old-growth forest with 0% harvest intensity and two in the managed forest with <20% harvest intensity. The results of the assessment of mean differences indicated a significant influence of harvesting intensity on the decrease in SOC, TN concentrations, weights and SOC stocks in the organic layers and the increase in BD and SOC stocks in the 0–10 cm mineral soil. The highest relative decreases in Ol, Of and Oh SOC stocks occurred in 50% (−10 and −38%) and 100% (−16 and −49%) harvest intensities. Negligible relative differences in both organic and 0–10 cm mineral layers were found for the <20% harvest intensity in the region. The change in forest light conditions resulting from differences in canopy openness as a function of applied harvest intensity explained the significant difference in the properties of the upper soil layers. The impact of the short-term losses in SOC stocks, in terms of overall soil productivity, may depend on the regeneration dynamics and melioration methods.

The Optimal Patent Portfolio of The Technology Standards Alliances in Innovation Competition

ABSTRACT Unlike the dominant theories based on the rigid assumption that “technology standards must contain only essential patents”, this paper discusses the standard alliances that are engaged in their cumulative innovation. Its focus is particularly on a more realistic setting that a standard alliance should contain both the essential and the non-essential patents. We use the essential-patent’s ratio, which denotes the percentage of the essential patents in the total patents in a standard, as the cumulative innovation model’s core variable. The mathematical analysis illustrates that the essential-patent’s ratio performs an important role in the arguments’ standards. There is an optimal portfolio that maximizes the alliances’ efficiency in an innovation competition. It implies that the social welfare effects depend on the dynamic trade-off between the long-term technical gap caused by the technological upgrades’ missing opportunities and the short-term welfare losses that consumers may suffer. The patents’ and antitrust laws should tolerate a certain number of non-essential patents being contained by the technology standards.

133 Economic effects of COVID-19 on the equine industry in Florida and Louisiana

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the equine industry and those who support it to reinvent the way business activities are conducted. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact these challenges have had on small business owners and employees within the industry. A survey was distributed through Qualtrics in May of 2020 and a convenience sample of 299 respondents were collected. Respondents ranged in age from 20 to 84 with an average of 55.3 (SD = 14.1). The majority of respondents were female (n = 182; 60.9%). Respondents averaged 23.9 years in the equine field (SD = 14.0; Min years = 0.0; Max years = 60.0) and represented 27 states with the largest participation from Florida (n = 123; 41.1%) and Louisiana (n = 108; 36.1%). Respondents were primarily breeders (n = 113; 37.8%) or trainers (n = 92; 30.8%). Approximately half of respondents reported working in the equine industry as their primary source of income (n = 159; 53.2%). The number of employees reported ranged from 0 (volunteer organization) to 67 (M = 3.8; SD = 6.7). Many respondents reported they were able to retain all their employees through COVID-19 (n = 202; 73.7%). Most respondents reported COVID-19 had decreased their dollars earned (n = 221; 80.7%), decreased ability to travel (n = 237; 86.5%), decreased requests for services (n = 204; 74.5%) and decreased ability to work (n = 150; 58.0%). Nearly all respondents reported they had not increased prices for services offered (n = 264; 96.4%), nor had they offered sales, discounts, or other promotions (n = 229; 83.6%). Two-thirds of respondents (n = 188; 68.6%) were still able to offer services, despite the COVID-19 situation. The total income loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic (M = $54,491; SD = $151,088), however in spite of the income loss, most respondents (n = 224; 93.7%) indicated they will reopen their businesses once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Some respondents reported reliance on financial assistance: small business loans (n = 78; 26.1%); grants (n = 47; 15.7%); unemployment (n = 25; 8.4%); food assistance (n = 6; 2.0%). Use of the Paycheck Protection Program was specifically reported (n = 9; 3.0%). Only 44 people (18.4%) reported seeking additional employment outside the equine industry. The equine industry is no stranger to fluctuations in the economy and despite the short-term losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses have found a way to stabilize their livelihood and to continue to serve the industry. Due to the length of time required to fully actualize long-term effects of economic losses and the diverse segmentation of the equine industry future research should be done to evaluate the total impact of the pandemic.

Financial losses for Dutch stakeholders during the 2013 aflatoxin incident in Maize in Europe

Early 2013, high concentrations of aflatoxin M1 were found in the bulk milk of a few dairy farms in the Netherlands. These high concentrations were caused by aflatoxin B1 contaminated maize from Eastern Europe that was processed into compound feed, which was fed to dairy cows. Since the contamination was discovered in the downstream stages of the supply chain, multiple countries and parties were involved and recalls of the feed were necessary, resulting into financial losses. The aim of this study was to estimate the direct short-term financial losses related to the 2013 aflatoxin incident for the maize traders, the feed industry, and the dairy sector in the Netherlands. First, the sequence of events of the incident was retrieved. Then, a Monte Carlo simulation model was built to combine the scarce and uncertain data to estimate the direct financial losses for each stakeholder. The estimated total direct financial losses of this incident were estimated to be between 12 and 25 million euros. The largest share, about 60%, of the total losses was endured by the maize traders. About 39% of the total losses were for the feed industry, and less than 1% of the total losses were for the dairy sector. The financial losses estimated in this study should be interpreted cautiously due to limitations associated with the quality of the data used. Furthermore, this incident led to indirect long-term financial effects, identified but not estimated in this study.

Predicting potential compliance of small-scale fishers in Brazil: The need to increase trust to achieve fisheries management goals

Many global management and conservation initiatives fail to prevent overfishing either because they do not plan for local engagement, surveillance, and enforcement, and/or because they fail to include alternatives for short-term losses. Thus, these initiatives do not gain support among fishers. In this study, we interviewed fishers to investigate their stated behavior toward fisheries regulations. We assessed possible (non)compliant behavior under scenarios where fishers would face a moratorium on some of their target species. Additionally, we investigated the consequences of such a moratorium on the food web if it were to lead to fishing alternative species. Using data from two Brazilian coastal sites, we found that younger fishers and those who demonstrated a trustworthy relationship with stakeholders were inclined to comply with the rules. The level of potential compliance also varied between the studied places, probably due to unidentified local idiosyncrasies. Fishers tended to trust community actors (e.g., the leader or head of the fishing community) more than institutional actors (e.g., environmental agencies). When fishers were asked why they would choose specific replacement species in the event of a moratorium, they most often cited expected profitability and ease of capture as reasons. Fishers also tended to say that they would replace endangered species with species in the same and/or lower trophic categories. We suggest working toward stronger stakeholder engagement, given that an overall sense of trust in a community appears to be an important asset toward successful management. Higher levels of trust could promote more transparency in the decision-making process, which could facilitate information dissemination, awareness, and the need for compliance. The mixed methods approach used here could help predict responses to new and existing management policies and support adaptive fisheries management.

Tobacco taxes for improving welfare and distributional outcomes: the case of Georgia.

Georgia has one of the highest smoking prevalence and tobacco-related morbidity and mortality rates in Europe and Central Asia. Nonetheless, tax increases on tobacco products are often opposed due to concerns of regressive fiscal effects. This article provides evidence on the long-term welfare and distributional impacts of increasing cigarette taxes in Georgia. An Extended Cost-Benefit Analysis is used to simulate the distributional effect of raising taxes on cigarettes. It weighs short-term losses due to higher tobacco prices with long-term benefits related to reduced medical expenses and additional earnings associated with extended life expectancy. Household expenditure data are used to estimate decile-specific price elasticities of demand for cigarettes, accounting for heterogeneous behavioral responses by income-group. Consistent with previous literature, cigarettes price elasticity decreases with income. A simulated 50% cigarette price increase would yield positive net gains for the lowest three deciles; increase the available income of the poorest 10% of the population by an average of 1% and, as a result, lift up to 7000 people out-of-poverty in 2017. The effects would be highly progressive. As lower-income households tend to be more responsive to price changes on cigarettes, they stand to benefit most from the health and economic consequences of taxing tobacco. This article shows that in addition to boosting fiscal revenues, increasing cigarette prices would lead to progressive and positive net gains for the poorest households in Georgia.

Responses of two common coral reef macroalgae to nutrient addition, sediment addition, and mechanical damage

Shifts from coral-dominated to macroalgal-dominated states on coral reefs are typically attributed to overfishing, often in combination with natural or other anthropogenic disturbances. However, a recent study attributed increased macroalgal cover to enhanced nutrient supplies alone without associated reductions in herbivorous fishes. This highlights the need to understand macroalgal responses to terrestrial runoff and how this can contribute to their proliferation on coral reefs. We explored the responses of two common brown macroalgae, Sargassum mangarevense (Grunow) Setchell and Padina boryana Thivy to nutrient addition, sediment addition, and mechanical damage in 3 field experiments. In the first experiment, we exposed all experimental units to herbivores and found that nutrient addition ameliorated biomass loss of both S. mangarevense and P. boryana by 79% and 47%, respectively, while sediment addition had no effect on either species. Exploring the underlying causes of these findings, we determined nutrient addition caused a 5% increase in toughness of S. mangarevense and a 51% increase in calcification of P. boryana. In a final experiment, both mechanical damage and nutrient addition independently increased calcification of P. boryana, while an antagonistic interaction between these factors for S. mangarevense suggests an upper limit to thallus toughness. Overall, we demonstrate that nutrients from anthropogenic terrestrial runoff may support macroalgal proliferation on coral reefs by ameliorating short-term biomass losses in the presence of herbivores. Further, we suggest the mechanism behind this amelioration may be changes in algal physical characteristics, specifically thallus toughness and calcification, in response to anthropogenic or natural disturbances.

How to Promote Personal Financial Education - Findings from Finnish University Students’ Financial Literacy Study

The results of The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and several studies show that the current level of financial literacy of the population can guarantee sustainability neither for them nor for society. As the financial crises and the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic have demonstrated, people have difficulty coping even with short-term income losses. This highlights the need to raise the level of financial literacy, which requires promotion of personal financial education, and specifically, –results from research. This paper presents the results from the first financial literacy survey in Finland that was organized among higher education students. The aim of the study was to assess the financial literacy and compare the results with similar studies to identify bottlenecks that could be improved through the promotion of financial education. The results of the survey showed a good level of students' financial knowledge, but also pointed out topics where the level of knowledge was low - areas like insurance and interest rate changes. The results indicated that financial literacy scores of students in mathematics-based academic disciplines are significantly better than those of students in non-numerical disciplines. A positive link was found between long-term planning and higher levels of financial literacy.

Combined influence of ignition chamber volume and spark plug channel diameter on the performance of small-scale natural gas Wankel rotary engine

To improve the poor in-cylinder combustion condition of the small spark ignition Wankel rotary engine (SI-WRE) and improve its efficiency, this paper conducted a comprehensive optimization of its ignition environment. Since there are no known effects of ignition chamber characteristics, including ignition chamber volume () and spark plug channel diameter (), on the ignition environment, various combinations of and were established, simulated, and compared, using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods with validated models. As there are small and complex structures in the small SI-WRE, along with the huge simulation load in the case study, special treatments were adopted in mesh division to maintain the fast and accurate simulation. The results showed a wide thermal efficiency range of 8.51–32.13% under various and combinations, indicating that the engine performance was deeply limited by the ignition chamber. and also had profound influences on short-term (affected by ) and long-term (affected by ) flow losses, fresh intake at spark region, combustion speed, and working stability. Stable working condition was achieved when cc and mm, while powerful situations were cc and mm, or cc and mm.

A longitudinal characterization of sex-specific somatosensory and spatial memory deficits in HIV Tg26 heterozygous mice.

The pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus associated neurological disorders is still not well understood, yet is known to result in neurological declines despite combination anti-retroviral therapy. HIV-1 transgenic (Tg26) mice contain integrated non-infectious HIV-1 proviral DNA. We sought to assess the integrity of neurocognitive function and sensory systems in HIV-1 Tg26 mice using a longitudinal design, in both sexes, to examine both age- and sex-related disease progression. General neurological reflexive testing showed only acclimation to repeated testing by all groups. Yet, at 2.5 months of age, female Tg26 +/- mice showed hyposensitivity to noxious hot temperatures, compared to wild types (both sexes) and male Tg26 +/- mice, that worsened by 10 months of age. Female Tg26 +/- mice had short-term spatial memory losses in novel object location memory testing at 2.5 and 7 months, compared to female wild types; changes not observed in male counterparts. Female Tg26 +/- mice showed mild learning deficits and short- and long-term spatial memory deficits in olfactory and visually cued Barnes Maze testing at 3 months of age, yet greater learning and memory deficits by 8 months. In contrast, male Tg26 +/- mice displayed no learning deficits and fewer spatial memory deficits (mainly heading errors in nontarget holes). Thus, greater sex-specific temperature hyposensitivity and spatial memory declines were observed in female HIV Tg26 +/- mice, than in male Tg26 +/- mice, or their wild type littermates, that increased with aging. Additionally, tibial bones were examined using ex vivo micro-CT after tissue collection at 11 months. Sex-dependent increases in bone volume and trabecular number were seen in males, matching their greater weights at this age. These results indicate that HIV-1 Tg26 mice is a promising model in which to study neuropathic mechanisms underlying peripheral pathology as well as cognitive deficits seen with HIV.

Deciding to Divorce: Separation Initiation and Experience

At the heart of economic and sociological thinking on divorce lies the idea that a couple divorces if at least one spouse expects to improve their life in doing so. De facto, divorces are predominantly initiated by one spouse alone. This might suggest that one spouse typically benefits from divorce (the initiator), while the other is disadvantaged (the non-initiator). At the same time, empirical research on the consequences of divorce commonly focuses on the average effect for both partners. In contrast, I estimate separation trajectories individually for initiators and non-initiators of formerly cohabitating or married couples. The analysis covers a wide range of outcomes and a long period of time surrounding the separation. I employ an event-study design based on individual fixed effects, thereby accounting for time-invariant individual heterogeneity that could be linked to initiator status and the outcomes. The results reveal substantial differences in separation trajectories between initiators and non-initiators. Initiators indeed improve their subjective well-being after a separation and also see gains in other life domains, with the exception of the economic domain. Non-initiators experience significant short-term losses in subjective well-being and varying trajectories in other aspects of their life. These findings lend support to the theoretical notion that the expected consequences of divorce drive the decision to initiate divorce. Moreover, they indicate that, depending on the outcome, analyses of the average consequences of divorce provide only limited information on the causal effects for individuals because they do not disentangle the opposing trajectories of initiators and non-initiators.

Creating Short-Term Volume Flexibility in Healthcare Capacity Management.

It is well-known that unpredictable variations in supply and demand of capacity in healthcare systems create the need for flexibility. The main tools used to create short-term volume flexibility in the healthcare system include overtime, temporary staff from internal calling lists, moving staff across units, internal staffing pools, external staffing agencies, queuing patients, and purchasing care from external providers. We study the creation of short-term volume flexibility in healthcare systems to manage short-term capacity losses and demand fluctuations. A questionnaire was developed and distributed among healthcare managers in the Region Västra Götaland healthcare system. Respondents were asked to what extent they used each tool to create short-term flexibility in capacity. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Several significant tendencies were found, including that acute units use overtime and internal staffing pools to a larger extent, and queuing patients and external providers to a lesser extent than planned units. The prerequisites and required managerial approaches used to efficiently manage aggregate capacity in the system differ substantially between different parts of the system. These differences must be addressed when, for example, capacity pools are considered. These results serve as a stepping stone towards a more thorough understanding of efficient capacity management in healthcare systems.

Characterizing distinctive drilling mud properties using new proposed hyperbolic fluid loss model for high pressure and high temperature conditions

The currently in use fluid loss model (American Petroleum Institute (API)) was developed using the Darcy relationship and assuming that there is no changes in the permeability, solid content in the filter cake and filter cake thickness during the 30 min of fluid loss. Hence, in the current API model, the fluid loss is directly propositional to the square-root of time. In this study, a new proposed hyperbolic fluid loss model has been developed based on a time dependent variation in the filter cake properties. Also, the new proposed model has the power to quantify the short-term and long-term fluid losses (more than 30 min). Moreover, the new model has a limit on the total fluid loss compared to the current API model that shows an infinite fluid loss with time. The new model parameters are related to the applied pressure and temperature using nonlinear power models. The new model predictions are verified with the fluid loss results reported in the literature (225 °C and 300 psi) and tests performed in the laboratory at high pressure and high temperature on bentonite drilling muds during this study. The laboratory tests are both limited to 2% and 8% (by weight) bentonite drilling muds at 100 °C and 100 psi (689.5 kPa) up to 420 min (7 hrs) till the end of the fluid loss. The new model predicts the experimental results on maximum fluid loss and changes in the filter cake porosity, permeability, solid content, and thickness with time, pressure and temperature very well.

Testing a Prospect Theory Model of Support for Change to the Supreme Court

This paper explores public support for proposed changes to the Supreme Court through the lens of Prospect Theory. Two experiments on the 2019 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) investigate how individuals think about retrospective benefits and future risks posed by Supreme Court decision making. The first experiment indicates that measures of perceived personal and societal benefit from Court outputs are significantly influenced by the relevant time frame respondents are asked to consider (past 75 vs. past 15 years), respondents’ political partisanship, and the interaction between them. The second experiment indicates that prospective risks are significantly affected by question wording, partisanship, and an interaction between respondents’ partisanship and the relevant time frame, such that, Republicans expect more benefits in the short term and greater losses over longer periods; those expectations reverse for respondents who not identify as Republicans. Regression analyses demonstrate that using retrospective benefits as a proxy for determining if someone is in the domain of gains or losses generally does not yield significant findings with respect to support for change to the Supreme Court. Conceptualizing risk domains in terms of the expectation of future gains and losses, however, does yield significant effects in a manner consistent with prospect theory.

Species-specific biomass drives macroalgal benthic primary production on temperate rocky reefs

Temperate rocky reefs dominated by the giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, support diverse assemblages of benthic macroalgae that provide a suite of ecosystem services, including high rates of primary production in aquatic ecosystems. These forests and the benthic macroalgae that inhabit them are facing both short-term losses and long-term declines throughout much of their range in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Here, we quantified patterns of benthic macroalgal biomass and irradiance on rocky reefs that had intact kelp forests and nearby reefs where the benthic macroalgae had been lost due to deforestation at three sites along the California, USA and Baja California, MEX coasts during the springs and summers of 2017 and 2018. We then modeled how the loss of macroalgae from these reefs impacted net benthic productivity using species-specific, mass-dependent rates of photosynthesis and respiration that we measured in the laboratory. Our results show that the macroalgal assemblages at these sites were dominated by a few species of stipitate kelps and fleshy red algae whose relative abundances were spatially and temporally variable, and which exhibited variable rates of photosynthesis and respiration. Together, our model estimates that the dominant macroalgae on these reefs contribute 15 to 4,300 mg C m−2 d−1 to net benthic primary production, and that this is driven primarily by a few dominant taxa that have large biomasses and high rates of photosynthesis and / or respiration. Consequently, we propose that the loss of these macroalgae results in the loss of an important contribution to primary production and overall ecosystem function. Key words: benthic production; ecosystem function; kelp forest; macroalgae; primary production

Post-processing HAZUS earthquake damage and loss assessments for individual buildings

Building damage probabilities are invaluable for assessing short-term losses from natural hazards. In many countries however, the individual building level data required for assessing reliable damage are usually unavailable. This paper shows how the post-processing of aggregate HAZUS earthquake damage assessments can yield building-level damage probabilities. On the basis of three plausible scenarios for Northern Israel, we generate and visualize a building-level combined damage probability index. We use the tools of exploratory spatial data analysis to purge any causal influences in the spatial pattern of these calculated damage probabilities. The costs and benefits of our approach are discussed.

Membrane aerated biofilm reactors for mainstream partial nitritation/anammox: Experiences using real municipal wastewater

This study investigated the potential of Membrane-Aerated Biofilm Reactors (MABRs) for mainstream nitrogen removal via partial nitration/anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). Four laboratory-scale MABRs were operated with real municipal wastewater characterized by low concentrations of nitrogen (varying between 31 and 120 mg–NH4–N L−1) and the presence of biodegradable organic carbon (soluble COD (sCOD) between 7 and 230 mg-O2 L−1). Two reactors were operated with different aeration strategies (intermittent vs. continuous), the other two with differences in biomass retention (recirculation or removal of detached biomass). Keeping a constant HRT caused instabilities due to difficulties with setting the optimal oxygen flux for the respective surface loadings (1.6–6 g–NH4–N m−2 d−1). Operating the MABRs with a constant surface loading (2 g–NH4–N m−2 d−1) resulted in higher and more stable total nitrogen (TN) removal independent of the aeration strategy. The intermittently aerated MABR improved from an average TN removal of 23%–69%, the continuously aerated MABR from 20% to 50% TN removal. Independent of the feeding strategy, the continuously aerated reactor removed slightly more ammonium (80–95%) compared to the intermittently aerated reactor (74–93%).Limiting the oxygen supply by intermittent aeration proofed successful to favor partial nitritation and anammox. Continuous aeration did not achieve stable suppression of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Of the removed ammonium, approx. 26% were left in the effluent as nitrate (only 10% with intermittent aeration).Recirculation of the detached biomass resulted in reattachment onto the biofilm or membrane surface. This recirculation led to significantly higher biomass retention times and thus to better performance. Removing detached biofilm from the reactor caused a slightly lower TN removal of 33% compared to 45% with reattachment, while average ammonium removal was 58% compared to 63%, respectively. Scouring events had a significant impact on the overall operation, resulting in short term losses of TN removal capacities of 50–100%.The microbial community composition was different depending on the aeration strategy and biomass retention. The continuously aerated reactor contained significantly more AOB than the intermittently aerated MABR. The reactor with biomass retention contained less ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB), compared to the reactor with low biomass retention. In all MABRs, anammox bacteria established in the biofilm after an initial drop in abundance.