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Composition and variation of phytoplankton communities during Microcystis bloom in an artificial lagoon of Hangzhou Bay, China

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Abstract

The interaction of various environmental triggers on phytoplankton communities of an artificial lagoon of Hangzhou Bay China, was studied during a Microcystis bloom in summer 2016. Forty-two phytoplankton genera (six phyla) were defined, with Bacillariophyta accounting for half of all phytoplankton genera. It was determined that Melosira, Chlorella, Cyclotella, Microcystis, Merismopedia, Anabaena and Selenastrum, which were identified and counted by an inverted microscope, were the dominant genera. In addition, a series of environmental indicators were analyzed, including salinity, seawater temperature, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, soluble reactive phosphorus (PO4-P), ammonium (NH4-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), nitrite (NO2-N), silicate (SiO4-Si), and chemical oxygen demand of the water samples, as well as zooplankton community. The results of variance partitioning by R language revealed that the most influential factor driving the change in the phytoplankton community was the environment (49.7%), and zooplankton grazing represented only 7.9%. The results of redundancy analysis indicated that the change and composition of the phytoplankton community correlated significantly with the interaction of salinity, PO4-P, transparency, seawater temperature, and the dominant zooplankton species. Notably, salinity and temperature fluctuation were the key factors inducing the rapid succession of the plankton community in artificial lagoons such as within the Jinshan City Beach (Shanghai, China).

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Acknowledgements

Bin Sun and Chunyu Tang conceived and designed the study. Na Yang was involved in the testing of the samples. Bin Sun analyzed the data. Chunyu Tang wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Funding

This study was supported by the Shanghai Oceanic Administration Scientific Research Project (2015-02), the Key Projects in the National Science & Technology Pillar Program (2012BAC07B03), the Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean (201205009-5), and the Plateau Peak Disciplines Project of Shanghai Universities (Marine Science 0707).

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  1. Bin Sun and Chunyu Tang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, People’s Republic of China

    Bin Sun, Chunyu Tang, Na Yang & Peimin He

  2. Marine Scientific Research Institute, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, People’s Republic of China

    Bin Sun, Chunyu Tang, Na Yang & Peimin He

  3. Water Environment and Ecology Engineering Research Center of Shanghai Institution of Higher Education, Shanghai, 201306, People’s Republic of China

    Bin Sun, Chunyu Tang, Na Yang & Peimin He

  4. National Demonstration Center for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, People’s Republic of China

    Bin Sun & Peimin He

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Sun, B., Tang, C., Yang, N. et al. Composition and variation of phytoplankton communities during Microcystis bloom in an artificial lagoon of Hangzhou Bay, China. Aquat Ecol 55, 467–481 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-021-09838-5

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