Phytoplankton abundance and community structure in the Antarctic polar frontal region during austral summer of 2009

The Antarctic polar front region in the Southern Ocean is known to be most productive. We studied the phytoplankton community structure in the Indian sector at this frontal location during late austral summer (February, 2009) onboard R/V Akademic Boris Petrov. We used the phytoplankton and microheterotrophs abundance, as also the associated physico-chemical parameters to explain the low phytoplankton abundance in the study region. This study emphasizes the shift of phytoplankton, from large (>10 μm) to small (<10 μm) size. The phytoplankton abundance appears to be controlled by physical parameters and by nutrient concentrations and also by the microheterotrophs (ciliates and dinoflagellates) which exert a strong grazing pressure. This probably reduces small (<10 μm) and large (>10 μm) phytoplankton abundance during the late austral summer. This study highlights the highly productive polar front nevertheless becomes a region of low phytoplankton abundance, due to community shifts towards pico-phytoplankton (<10 μm) during late austral summer.     

A dinoflagellate <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cochlodinium geminatum</Emphasis> bloom in the Zhujiang (Pearl) River estuary in autumn 2009

A severe Cochlodinium geminatum red tide (>300 km2) was observed in the Zhujiang (Pearl) River estuary, South China Sea in autumn 2009. We evaluated the environmental conditions and phytoplankton community structure during the outbreak. The red tide water mass had significantly higher dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP), ammonia, and temperature, but significantly lower nitrite, nitrate, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and DIN/DIP relative to the non-red-tide zones. The phytoplankton assemblage was dominated by dinoflagellates and diatoms during the red tide. C. geminatum was the most abundant species, with a peak density of 4.13×107 cell/L, accounting for >65% of the total phytoplankton density. The DIN/DIP ratio was the most important predictor of species, accounting for 12.45% of the total variation in the phytoplankton community. Heavy phosphorus loading, low precipitation, and severe saline intrusion were likely responsible for the bloom of C. geminatum.     

Gaussian decomposition and component pigment spectral analysis of phytoplankton absorption spectra

The absorption spectrum of phytoplankton is an important bio-optical parameter for ocean color hyperspectral remote sensing;its magnitude and shape can be affected considerably by pigment composition and concentration.We conducted Gaussian decomposition to the absorption spectra of phytoplankton pigment and studied the spectral components of the phytoplankton,in which the package effect was investigated using pigment concentration data and phytoplankton absorption spectra.The decomposition results were compared with the corresponding concentrations of the five main pigment groups(chlorophylls a,b,and c,photo-synthetic carotenoids(PSC),and photo-protective carotenoids(PPC)).The results indicate that the majority of residual errors in the Gaussian decomposition are0.001 m~(-1),and R~2 of the power regression between characteristic bands and HPLC pigment concentrations(except for chlorophyll b)was0.65 or greater for surface water samples at autumn cruise.In addition,we determined a strong predictive capability for chlorophylls a,c,PPC,and PSC.We also tested the estimation of pigment concentrations from the empirical specific absorption coefficient of pigment composition.The empirical decomposition showed that the Ficek model was the closest to the original spectra with the smallest residual errors.The pigment decomposition results and HPLC measurements of pigment concentration are in a high consistency as the scatter plots are distributed largely near the 1:1 line in spite of prominent seasonal variations.The Wozniak model showed a better fit than the Ficek model for Chla,and the median relative error was small.The pigment component information estimated from the phytoplankton absorption spectra can help better remote sensing of hyperspectral ocean color that related to the changes in phytoplankton communities and varieties.     

Spatio-temporal distribution of net-collected phytoplankton community and its response to marine exploitation in Xiangshan Bay

To explore the spatial-temporal distribution of the phytoplankton community and evaluate the combined effects of marine resource exploitation, net-collected phytoplankton and physical-chemical parameters were investigated in the Xiangshan Bay during the four seasons of 2010. A total of eight phyla, 97 genera, and 310 species were found, including 232 diatom species, 45 dinoflagellate species and 33 other taxa. The phytoplankton abundances presented a significant (P<0.001) seasonal difference with the average of 60.66×10⁴ cells/m³. Diatoms (mainly consisting of Coscinodiscus jonesianus, Cerataulina pelagica, Skeleto n ema costatum, and genus Chaetoceros) dominated the phytoplankton assemblage in all seasons. We found great spatio-temporal variation in community composition based on the multidimensional scaling and similarity analysis. Canonical correspondence analysis show that temperature, nutrition, illumination, and salinity were the main variables associated with microalgal assemblage. Compared with the previous studies, an increase in phytoplankton abundance and change in the dominant species coincided with increased exploitation activities in this bay (e.g. operation of coastal power plants, intensive mariculture, tidal flat reclamation, and industrial and agricultural development). The present findings suggest that the government should exercise caution when deciding upon developmental patterns in the sea-related economy.     

Spatial-Temporal Change of Phytoplankton Biomass in the East China Sea with MODIS Data

A ten-year chlorophyll-a concentration dataset from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer(MODIS) were used to analyze the variation of phytoplankton biomass and its potential relation with climate in the East China Sea. The result indicated that the phytoplankton biomass generally had a regular pattern every year, and phytoplankton bloom mainly occurred between May and July. The highest phytoplankton biomass appeared near the Yangtze River Estuary. The lowest phytoplankton biomass located near the Taiwan Strait. In general, the starting bloom time was earlier in the south than in the north, and the span time of the former was also longer. During the recent ten years, the phytoplankton biomass around the Yangtze River Estuary decreased obviously. The change of phytoplankton biomass was found to be related with the Ni?o3.4 Index. The correlation between the intensity of phytoplankton bloom with the number and square of red tide were 0.63 and 0.74, respectively.     

Influence of Seawater Temperature on Phytoplankton Growth in Jiaozhou Bay, China

The phytoplankton reproduction capacity (PRC), as a new concept regarding chlorophyll-a and primary production (PP) is described. PRC is different from PP, carbon assimilation number (CAN) or photosynthetic rate ( P^B ) . PRC quantifies phytoplankton growth with a special consideration of the effect of seawater temperature. Observation data in Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, China, collected from May 1991 to February 1994 were used to analyze the horizontal distribution and seasonal variation of the PRC in Jiaozhou Bay in order to determine the characteristics, dynamic cycles and trends of phytoplankton growth in Jiaozhou Bay; and to develop a corresponding dynamic model of seawater temperature vs. PRC. Simulation curves showed that seawater temperature has a dual function of limiting and enhancing PRC. PRC‘s periodicity and fluctuation are similar to those of the seawater temperature. Nutrient silicon in Jiaozhou Bay satisfies phytoplankton growth from June 7 to November 3. When nutrients N, P and Si satisfy the phytoplankton growth and solar irradiation is sufficient, the PRC would reflect the influence of seawater temperature on phytoplankton growth. Moreover, the result quantitatively explains the scenario of one-peak or two-peak phytoplankton reproduction in Jiaozhou Bay, and also quantitatively elucidates the internal mechanism of the one- or two-peak phytoplankton reproduction in the global marine areas.     

Effect of flow rate on environmental variables and phytoplankton dynamics: results from field enclosures

To investigate the effects of flow rate on phytoplankton dynamics and related environment variables,a set of enclosure experiments with different fl ow rates were conducted in an artificial lake. We monitored nutrients,temperature,dissolved oxygen,p H,conductivity,turbidity,chlorophyll-a and phytoplankton levels. The lower biomass in all flowing enclosures showed that flow rate significantly inhibited the growth of phytoplankton. A critical flow rate occurred near 0.06 m/s,which was the lowest relative inhibitory rate. Changes in flow conditions affected algal competition for light,resulting in a dramatic shift in phytoplankton composition,from blue-green algae in still waters to green algae in flowing conditions. These findings indicate that critical flow rate can be useful in developing methods to reduce algal bloom occurrence. However,flow rate significantly enhanced the inter-relationships among environmental variables,in particular by inducing higher water turbidity and vegetative reproduction of periphyton( Spirogyra). These changes were accompanied by a decrease in underwater light intensity,which consequently inhibited the photosynthetic intensity of phytoplankton. These results warn that a universal critical flow rate might not exist,because the effect of flow rate on phytoplankton is interlinked with many other environmental variables.     

太湖浮游藻类的后向散射分离及其叶绿素a浓度反演

浮游藻类的后向散射是水体光谱构成的重要组成部分,作为水体辐射传输模型中的重要参数,高精度的藻类后向散射系数对水体叶绿素a浓度的遥感反演精度至关重要。本文以简化的辐射传输模型-生物光学模型为基础,尝试性分离了太湖浮游藻类的后向散射系数。通过藻类后向散射规律分析,建立了浮游藻类吸收、后向散射特征的叶绿素a反演模型,改善了叶绿素a浓度的遥感反演精度。分析表明：藻类颗粒物的后向散射系数与吸收系数之间存在反比关系,且在560 nm、700 nm附近存在明显的散射峰,与叶绿素a浓度之间相关性显著;低密度藻类水体总悬浮颗粒的后向散射以非色素颗粒为主导,适合采用经典的指数模型模拟后向散射系数,而藻类密度较高的富营养化水体,水体总悬浮颗粒的后向散射以藻类颗粒为主导,传统的指数模型已不适用;采用分离藻类后向散射系数的方法,使得叶绿素a浓度的反演值与真实值相关系数从0.66提高到0.98,相对误差从55%降低到38%,均方根误差(RMSE)也由60.95 μg/L降低至13.98 μg/L。其真实性检验表明,与经典指数模型方法相比,利用藻类颗粒后向散射分离方法反演叶绿素a浓度,能够显著改善反演精度。     

A bio-optical inversion model to retrieve absorption contributions and phytoplankton size structure from total minus water spectral absorption using genetic algorithm

We propose a bio-optical inversion model that retrieves the absorption contributions of phytoplankton and colored detrital matter(CDM),as well as the phytoplankton size classes(PSCs),from total minus water absorption spectra.The model is based on three-component separation of phytoplankton size structure and a genetic algorithm.The model performance was tested on two independent datasets(the NASA bio-Optical Marine Algorithm Dataset(NOMAD) and the northern South China Sea(NSCS) dataset).The relationships between the estimated and measured values were strongly linear,especially for aCDM(412),and the Root Mean Square Error(RMSE) of the CDM exponential slope(SCDM) was relatively low.Next,the inversion model was directly applied to in-situ total minus water absorption spectra determined by an underwater meter during a cruise in September 2008,to retrieve the phytoplankton size structure in the seawater.By comparing the measured and retrieved chlorophyll a concentrations,we demonstrated that total and size-specific chlorophyll a concentrations could be retrieved by the model with relatively high accuracy.Finally,we applied the bio-optical inversion model to investigate changes in phytoplankton size structure induced by an anti-cyclonic eddy in the NSCS.     

Examination of Silicate Limitation of Primary Production in Jiaozhou Bay,China Ⅱ.Critical Value and Time of Silicate Limitation and Satisfaction of the Phytoplankton Growth

Analysis and comparison of Jiaozhou Bay data collected from May 1991 to February 1994 revealed the spatiotemporal variations of the ambient Si(OH)₄:NO₃ (Si:N) concentration rations and the seasonal variations of (Si:N) ratios in Jiaozhou Bay and showed that the Si:N ratios were <1 throughout Jiaozhou Bay in spring, autumn, and winter. These results provide further evidence that silicate limits the growth of phytoplankton (i.e. diatoms) in spring, autumn and winter. Moreover, comparison of the spatiotemporal variations of the Si:N ratio and primary production in Jiaozhou Bay suggested their close relationship. The spatiotemporal pattern of dissolved silicate matched well that of primary production in Jiaozhou Bay. Along with the environmental change of Jiaozhou Bay in the last thirty years, the N and P concentrations tended to rise, whereas Si concentration showed cyclic seasonal variations. With the variation of nutrient Si limiting the primary production in mind, the authors found that the range of values of primary production is divided into three parts: the basic value of Si limited primary production, the extent of Si limited primary production and the critical value of Si limited primary production, which can be calculated for Jiaozhou Bay by Equations (1), (2) and (3), showing that the time of the critical value of Si limitation of phytoplankton growth in Jiaozhou Bay is around November 3 to November 13 in autumn; and that the time of the critical value of Si satisfaction of phytoplankton growth in Jiaozhou Bay is around May 22 to June 7 in spring. Moreover, the calculated critical value of Si satisfactory for phytoplankton growth is 2.15–0.76 μmol/L and the critical value of Si limitation of phytoplankton growth is 1.42–0.36 μmol/L; so that the time period of Si limitation of phytoplankton growth is around November 13 to May 22 in the next year; the time period of Si satisfactory for phytoplankton growth is around June 7 to November 3. This result also explains why critical values of nutrient silicon affect phytoplankton growth in spring and autumn are different in different waters of Jiaozhou Bay and also indicates how the silicate concentration affects the phytoplankton assemblage structure. The dilution of silicate concentration by seawater exchange affects the growth of phytoplankton so that the primary production of phytoplankton declines outside Jiaozhou Bay earlier than inside Jiaozhou Bay by one and half months. This study showed that Jiaozhou Bay phytoplankton badly need silicon and respond very sensitively and rapidly to the variation of silicon. This study was funded by NSFC (No. 40036010) and subsidized by Special Funds from National Key Basic Research Program of P. R. China (G19990437), the Postdoctoral Foundation of Ocean University of Qingdao, the Director's Foundation of the Beihai Monitoring Center of the State Oceanic Administration and the Foundation of Shanghai Fisheries University.     

Distributions of picophytoplankton and phytoplankton pigments along a salinity gradient in the Changjiang River Estuary,China

We investigated the abundance of different picophytoplankton groups and the phytoplankton pigment ratio in relation to environmental factors such as nutrients and suspended solids along a salinity gradient in the Changjiang River Estuary. The average numbers of Synechococcus spp.(Syn) and picoeukaryotes(Euk) were(2.7 ±5.1) ×103 and(1.1±1.4) ×103 cells m L-1, respectively. Prochlorococcus spp.(Pro) was only found in the high-salinity brackish water with the concentration of 3.0×103 cells m L-1. Syn and Euk numbers both tended to increase offshore and Syn showed a larger variation in cell abundance than Euk. The contribution of picophytoplankton to total phytoplankton biomass increased with increasing salinity and decreasing nutrient concentrations from the estuary to the open ocean. The response of different picophytoplankton groups to environmental variables was different. Water temperature was more important in its control over Euk than over Syn, while nutrients were more important in their influence over Syn than over Euk. Phytoplankton pigment ratios were different in the three different ecological zones along the salinity gradient(i.e., freshwater zone with 0-5 range, fresh and saline water mixing zone with 5-20 range, and high-salinity brackish water zone with 20-32 range), where three different phytoplankton communities were discovered, suggesting that phytoplankton pigment ratios can be considered as a complementary indicator of phytoplankton community structure in the Changjiang River Estuary.     

基于MODIS数据的太湖浮游植物物候变化及其对水表温度的响应

浮游植物物候能够反映浮游植物的生长变化与湖泊生态系统的变化,水温、营养盐浓度等因素对物候有重要影响。太湖富营养化程度较高,水温的影响作用日趋显著,物候与水温关系的研究对理解、控制和改善太湖生态系统具有重要意义。本研究利用2003—2018年MODIS遥感数据计算浮游植物物候指标和湖泊水表温度（Temperature of Water Surface,LSWT）,通过分析太湖浮游植物物候时空变化特点探究了不同区域的物候特征,并结合LSWT揭示了浮游植物物候对LSWT变化的响应关系。结果表明：① 不同浮游植物物候指标具有不同空间分布特点,水华发生次数、峰值叶绿素a（Chla）浓度和水华总持续时间呈现由西部沿岸向湖心区递减的趋势;浮游植物生长开始时间和峰值Chla发生时间分布复杂但在沿岸区域相对较早;② 太湖可被划分为4种具有不同物候特征的区域,Ⅰ类区域主要位于贡湖湾、东部沿岸以及太湖中部开阔水域,该区Chla浓度范围为50~60 μg/L,且波动平缓,水华发生次数最少、开始最晚、持续时间最短;Ⅱ类区域主要分布于太湖西部沿岸,Chla浓度范围为50~90 μg/L且变化剧烈,该区水华发生次数最多、开始最早、持续时间最长;Ⅲ和Ⅳ类属于过渡区域,前者主要分布于梅梁湾、竺山湾及入湾口,后者主要位于南部沿岸以及太湖中部;③ 浮游植物物候对LSWT变化的响应受营养水平影响,当营养水平较高时,浮游植物的生长受LSWT的促进作用显著,LSWT年际变化的升高趋势对浮游植生长物候提前、生物量增加的影响明显,反之,则LSWT变化对浮游植物生长的影响减弱。     

Silicon limitation on primary production and its destiny in Jiaozhou Bay, China VI： The ecological variation process of the phytoplankton

1 INTRODUCTION In a marine area, temporal and special variation in phytoplankton growth is closely related with that of light, water temperature and nutrient. The key study in this paper is how environmental factors in- cluding light, water temperature an…     

EXAMINATION OF SILICATE LIMITATION OF PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN JIAOZHOU BAY, CHINA——I. SILICATE BEING A LIMITING FACTOR OF PHYTOPLANKTON PRIMARY PRODUCTION

Jiaozhou Bay data collected from May 1991 to February 1994, in 12 seasonal investigations, and provided the authors by the Ecological Station of Jiaozhou Bay, were analyzed to determine the spatiotemporal variations in temperature, light, nutrients (NO3^--N, NO2^--N, NH4^ -N, SIO3^2--Si, PO4^3--P), phytoplankton, and primary production in Jiaozhou Bay. The results indicated that only silicate correlated well in time and space with, and had important effects on, the characteristics, dynamic cycles and trends of, primary production in Jiaozhou Bay. The authors developed a corresponding dynamic model of primary production and silicate and water temperature. Eq. ( 1 ) of the model shows that the primary production variation is controlled by the nutrient Si and affected by water temperature; that the main factor controlling the primary production is Si; that water temperature affects the composition of the structure of phytoplankton assemblage; that the different populations of the phytoplankton assemblage occupy different ecological niches for C, the apparent ratio of conversion of silicate in seawater into phytoplankton biomas and D, the coefficient of water temperature‘s effect on phytoplankton biomass. The authors researched the silicon source of Jiaozhou Bay, the biogeochemical sediment process of the silicon, the phytoplankton predominant species and the phytoplankton structure. The authors considered silicate a limiting factor of primary production in Jiaozhou Bay, whose decreasing concentration of silicate from terrestrial source is supposedly due to dilution by current and uptake by phytoplankton; quantified the silicate assimilated by phytoplankton, the intrinsic ratio of conversion of silicon into phytoplankton biomass, the proportion of silicate uptaken by phytoplankton and diluted by current; and found that the primary production of the phytoplankton is determined by the quantity of the silicate assimilated by them. The phenomenon of apparently high plant-nutrient concentTations but low phytoplankton biomass in some waters is reasonably explained in this paper.     

Spatial-temporal variation of phytoplankton community structure in Jiaozhou Bay,China

To better understand the spatial-temporal variation in phytoplankton community structure and its controlling factors in Jiaozhou Bay,Qingdao,North China,four seasonal sampling were carried out in 2017.The phytoplankton community structure and various environmental parameters were examined.The phytoplankton community in the bay was composed of mainly diatoms and dinoflagellates,and several other species of Chrysophyta were also observed.Diatoms were the most dominant phytoplankton group throughout the year,except in spring and winter,when Noctiluca scintillans was co-dominant.High Si/N ratios in summer and fall reflect the high dominance of diatoms in the two seasons.Temporally,the phytoplankton cell abundance peaked in summer,due mainly to the high temperatures and nutrient concentrations in summer.Spatially,the phytoplankton cell abundance was higher in the northern part of the bay than in the other parts of the bay in four seasons.The diatom cell abundances show significant positive correlations with the nutrient concentrations,while the dinoflagellate cell abundances show no correlation or a negative correlation with the nutrient concentrations but a significant positive correlation with the stratification index.This discrepancy was mainly due to the different survival strategies between diatoms and dinoflagellates.The Shannon-Wiener diversity index(H')values in the bay ranged from 0.08 to 4.18,which fell in the range reported in historical studies.The distribution pattern of H' values was quite different from that of chlorophyll a,indicating that the phytoplankton community structure might have high biomass with a low diversity index.Compared with historical studies,we believe that the dominant phytoplankton species have been changed in recent years due mainly to the changing environment in the Jiaozhou Bay in recent 30 years.     

Changes in nitrogen and phosphorus and their effects on phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea

Systematic studies of the changes in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) and their effects on phytoplankton over the last 30 years in the Bohai Sea are presented. The amount of sewage disposal, use of fertilizer and the Huanghe River runoff were found to have a significant influence on the DIN or DIP concentrations in the Bohai Sea over the last 30 years. Moreover, the changes in DIN and DIP resulted in changes in the limiting nutrients of phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea from nitrogen in the early 1980s to nitrogen-phosphorus in the late 1980s, and then to phosphorus after the 1990s. In addition, changes in nitrogen and phosphorus had a significant effect on the phytoplankton community structure. The half saturation constant (K _s) was used to evaluate the effect of nutrients on the phytoplankton community structure in the Bohai Sea over the last 30 years. Cell abundance percentages of dominant phytoplankton species with high K _s values for phosphorus and low K _s values for nitrogen have decreased since the 1980s, while those of dominant phytoplankton species with low K _s values for phosphorus and high K _s values for nitrogen increased during this period.     

Comparison of Two Methods to Assess the Size Structure of Phytoplankton Community Assemblages,in Liaodong Bay,China

Liaodong Bay is one of the largest semi-enclosed bays located in Bohai Sea, in northeast China. It is an important feeding and spawning place, even wintering and breeding migration base for many marine organisms. The size structure of phytoplankton communities is a key feature of marine ecosystems and can be used as an indicator for algae disaster, but the methods to evalute is still challenging. Here, we compared the size-fractionated chlorophyll-a method with a high-throughout sequencing method in an evaluation of the size structure of phytoplankton assemblages in Liaodong Bay, China, in 2014. The proportion of picophytoplankton was estimated at just 19% according to the results based on size-fractionated chlorophyll-a, which likely represents a severe underestimation. The sequencing method confirmed that many kinds of phytoplankton species appeared in more than one size-fractionated filter membrane, with some even dominating where the filter membrane pore size was greater than the individual phytoplankton size. According to the sequencing method, the phytoplankton assemblages in Liaodong Bay were dominated by picophytoplankton(average proportion = 44%), followed by the nanophytoplankton(average 32%), a composition that is more consistent with other studies. The sequencing method provides a more robust way to assess the size structure and taxonomic diversity of marine phytoplankton communities.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus intake by phytoplankton in the Xiamen Bay

This paper describes a time series experiment examining the nitrogen and phosphorus intake of natural phytoplankton communities by a microcosms approach.Seawater samples containing natural phytoplankton communities were collected from waters around Baozhu Islet in inner Xiamen Bay and around Qingyu Islet in the outer bay.The goal was to elucidate the relationship between phytoplankton population enhancement,the biological removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from the seawater,and the phytoplankton nitrogen an...     

Simulation of phytoplankton biomass in Quanzhou Bay using a back propagation network model and sensitivity analysis for environmental variables

Prediction and sensitivity models,to elucidate the response of phytoplankton biomass to environmental factors in Quanzhou Bay,Fujian,China,were developed using a back propagation(BP) network.The environmental indicators of coastal phytoplankton biomass were determined and monitoring data for the bay from 2008 was used to train,test and build a three-layer BP artificial neural network with multi-input and single-output.Ten water quality parameters were used to forecast phytoplankton biomass(measured as chlorophyll-a concentration).Correlation coefficient between biomass values predicted by the model and those observed was 0.964,whilst the average relative error of the network was-3.46% and average absolute error was 10.53%.The model thus has high level of accuracy and is suitable for analysis of the influence of aquatic environmental factors on phytoplankton biomass.A global sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the influence of different environmental indicators on phytoplankton biomass.Indicators were classified according to the sensitivity of response and its risk degree.The results indicate that the parameters most relevant to phytoplankton biomass are estuary-related and include pH,sea surface temperature,sea surface salinity,chemical oxygen demand and ammonium.