Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Seasonal Variations in Primary Productivity and Biomass of Phytoplankton in Geoje-Hansan Bay on the Southern Coast of Korea

  • Article
  • Published:
Ocean Science Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Phytoplankton constitutes an important dietary item of oysters in suspended longline aquaculture systems. Primary productivity and the community structure of phytoplankton, as well as hydrographic and nutritional conditions of the water column, were monitored monthly in Geoje-Hansan Bay on the southern coast of Korea between July 2013 and July 2014 to determine the seasonal variation patterns of productivity and structures of phytoplankton assemblages. All measured physicochemical and biological components exhibited temporal variabilities common to all four sampling sites within the bay system. The hydrographic features were characterized by a summer stratified and fall–winter well-mixed structure of the water column. Daily primary productivity in the bay (0.16–2.88 g C m–2 d–1) peaked in summer; it displayed a unimodal cycle, and the most dominant phytoplankton group shifted from diatoms to dinoflagellates. Canonical correspondence analysis, based on environmental factors and the phytoplankton community, enabled the identification of seasonal patterns of phytoplankton assemblage in relation to temporal variations of hydrographic and nutritional conditions. Results indicated that increase of the watercolumn stability and enhanced nutrient input by freshwater discharge during the summer monsoon and possible upward flux from bottom sediment led to the peaking primary productivity and diatom-dominated community during that time, supporting high annual productivity (371 g C m–2 yr–1). Our findings suggest that seasonal properties of hydrodynamics and nutritional conditions play a key role in determining the primary productivity and structuring of the phytoplankton community. Summer peaks in productivity and diatom dominance most likely ultimately determine oyster growth and the final success of aquaculture.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baek SH, Kim D, Son M, Yun SM, Kim YO (2015) Seasonal distribution of phytoplankton assemblages and nutrient-enriched bioassays as indicators of nutrient limitation of phytoplankton growth in Gwangyang Bay, Korea. Estuar Coast Shelf S 165:265–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bel Hassen M, Drira Z, Hamza A, Ayadi H, Akrout F, Issaoui H (2008) Summer phytoplankton pigments and community composition related to water mass properties in the Gulf of Gabes. Estuar Coast Shelf S 77:645–656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bel Hassen M, Hamza A, Drira Z, Zouari A, Akrout F, Messaoudi S, Aleya L, Ayadi H (2009) Phytoplankton-pigment signatures and their relationship to spring-summer stratification in the Gulf of Gabes. Estuar Coast Shelf S 83:296–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braak CJF (1986) Canonical correspondence analysis: a new eigenvector technique for multivariate direct gradient analysis. Ecology 67:1167–1179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown JR, Hartwick EB (1988) Influences of temperature, salinity and available food upon suspended culture of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Aquaculture 70:231–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bustillos-Gusmán J, Claustre H, Marty JC (1995) Specific phytoplankton signatures and their relationship to hydrographic conditions in the coastal northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 124:247–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi KS (2008) Oyster capture-based aquaculture in the Republic of Korea. In: Lovatelli A, Holthus PF (eds) Capture-based aquaculture. Global overview. FAO, Rome, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 508, pp 271–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Cloern JE (1982) Does the benthos control phytoplankton biomass in South San Francisco Bay? Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 9:191–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole BE, Cloern JE (1984) Significance of biomass and light availability to phytoplankton productivity in San Francisco Bay. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 17:15–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’costa PM, Anil AC, Patil JS, Hegde S, D’silva MS, Chourasia M (2008) Dinoflagellates in mesotrophic, tropical environment influenced by monsoon. Estuar Coast Shelf S 77:77–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dame RF (1996) Ecology of marine bivalves: an ecosystem approach. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 272 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Del Amo Y, Le pape O, Tréguer P, Quéquiner B, Ménesquen A, Aminot A (1997) Impacts of high-nitrate freshwater inputs on macrotidal ecosystems. I. Seasonal evolution of nutrient limitation for the diatom-dominated phytoplankton of the Bay of Brest (France). Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 161:213–224

    Google Scholar 

  • Estrada M (1996) Primary production in the northwestern Mediterranean. Sci Mar 60:55–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Falkowski PG, Wilson C (1992) Phytoplankton productivity in the North Pacific Ocean since 1900 and implications for absorption of anthropogenic CO2. Nature 358:741–743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan C, Glibert PM (2005) Effects of light on nitrogen and carbon uptake during a Prorocentrum minimum bloom. Harmful Algae 4:629–641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2018) Global aquaculture production, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, http://www.fao.org/fishery/ statistics/global-aquaculture-production/en Accessed 18 Dec 2018

    Google Scholar 

  • Fogg GE (1991)The phytoplankton way of life. New Phytol 118:191–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujiki T, Toda T, Kikuchi T, Aono H, Taguchi S (2004) Phosphorus limitation of primary productivity during the spring-summer blooms in Sagami Bay, Japan. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 283:29–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs MT (2007) Sustainability performance indicators for suspended bivalve aquaculture activities. Ecol Indic 7:94–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goffart A, Hecq JH, Legendre L (2015) Drivers of the winterspring phytoplankton bloom in a pristine NW Mediterranean site, the Bay of Calvi (Corsica): a long-term study (1979–2011). Prog Oceanogr 137:121–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman JC, McGillicuddy D (2003) Effect of large marine diatom growing at low light on episodic new production. Limnol Oceanogr 48:1176–1182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez F, Gorsky G (2003) Annual microplankton cycles in Villefranche Bay, Lingurian Sea, NW Mediterranean. J Plankton Res 25:323–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hama T, MiyazakiT, OgawaY, Iwakuma M, Takahashim M, Otsuki A, Ichimura S (1983) Measurement of photosynthetic production of a marine phytoplankton population using a stable isotope 13C isotope. Mar Biol 73:31–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill JM, Mcquaid CD, Kaehler S (2006) Biogeographic and nearshore-offshore trends in isotope ratios of intertidal mussels and their food sources around the coast of southern Africa. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 318:63–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Honkoop PJC, Bayne BL (2002) Stocking density and growth of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) in Port Stephens, Australia. Aquaculture 213:171–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang CH, Lin HJ, Huang TC, Su HM, Hung JJ (2008) Responses of phytoplankton and periphyton to system-scale removal of oyster-culture racks from a eutrophic tropical lagoon. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 358:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyun KH, Pang IC, Klinck JM, Choi KS, Lee JB, Powell EN, Hofmann EE, Bochenek EA (2001) The effect of food composition on Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg) growth in Korea: a modeling study. Aquaculture 199:41–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Incze LS, Lutz RA, Watling L (1980) Relationship between effects of environmental temperature and seston on growth and mortality of Mytilus edulis in a temperate northern estuary. Mar Biol 57:147–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeong WG, Cho SM, Cho CH (1999) Suspended time dependent meat weight increase of Oysters, Crassostrea gigas, in Pukman Bay, Korea. Korean J Malacol 15:41–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanda J, Fujiwara S, Kitazato H, Okada Y (2003) Seasonal and annual variation in the primary production regime in the central part of Sagami Bay. Prog Oceanogr 57:17–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanda J, Saino T, Hattori A (1985) Nitrogen uptake by natural populations of phytoplankton and primary production in the Pacific Ocean: Regional variability of uptake capacity. Limnol Oceanogr 30:987–999

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang CK, Choy EJ, Hur YB, Myeong JI (2009) Isotopic evidence of particle size-dependent food partitioning in cocultured sea squirt Halocynthia roretzi and Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Aquat Biol 6:289–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang CK, Kim PJ, Lee WC, Lee PY (1999) Nutrients and phytoplankton blooms in the southern coastal waters of Korea: I. the elemental composition of C, N, and P in particulate matter in the coastal bay systems. J Korean Soc Oceanogr 34:86–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Kang CK, Park MS, Lee PY, Choi WJ, Lee WC (2000) Seasonal variations in condition, reproductive activity, and biochemical suspended culture in two coastal bays of Korea. J Shellfish Res 19:771–778

    Google Scholar 

  • Kang IS, Jin K, Wang B, Lau KM, Shukla J, Krishnamurthy V, Schubert SD, Wailser DE, Stern WF, Kitoh A, Meehl Ga, Kanamitsu M, Galin VY, Satyan V, Park CK, Liu Y (2002) Intercomparison of the climatological variations of Asian summer monsoon precipitation simulated by 10 GCMs. Clim Dynam 19:383–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim S, Park MG, Moon C, Shin K, Chang M (2007) Seasonal variations in phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing in a temperate coastal embayment, Korea. Estuar Coast Shelf S 71:159–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • KMA (2018) Meteorological observation-past data. Korea Meteorological Administration. http://www.weather.go.kr/weather/climate/ past_cal.jsp Accessed 21 Jan 2019

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwak JH, Lee SH, Park HJ, Choy EJ, Jeong HD, Kim KR, Kang CK (2013) Monthly measured primary and new productivities in the Ulleung Basin as a biological “hot spot” in the East/Japan Sea. Biogeosciences 10:4405–4417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwon KY, Lee PG, Park C, Moon CH, Park MO (2001) Biomass and species composition of phytoplankton and zooplankton along the salinity gradients in the Seomjin River estuary. J Korean Soc Oceanogr 6:93–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee BD, Kang HK, Kang YJ (1991) Primary production in the oyster farming bay. Bull Korean Fish Soc 24:39–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee JM, Park AJ, Cho SM, Park KD (2008) Growth comparison of the Pacific oyster spat, Crassostrea gigas, by three different suspended time around coast of Gyeongnam. Korean J Malacol 24:109–119

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee MO, Kim JK (2008) Characteristics of algal blooms in the southern coastal waters of Korea. Mar Environ Res 65:128–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee PY, Kang CK, Choi WJ, Yang HS (2001) Seasonal variation of the quantity and quality of seston as diet available to suspensionfeeders in Gosung and Kangjin Bays of Korea. J Korean Fish Soc 34:340–347

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee YW, Park MO, Kim YS, Kim SS, Kang CK (2011) Application of photosynthetic pigment analysis using a HPLC and CHEMTAX program to studies of phytoplankton community composition. J Oceanol Soc Korea 16:117–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefebvre S, Harma C, Blin JL (2009) Trophic typology of coastal ecosystems based on δ13C and δ15N ratio in an opportunistic suspension feeder. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 390:27–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lesser MP, Shumway SE, Cucci T, Smith J (1992) Impact of fouling organisms on mussel rope culture: interspecific competition for food among suspension-feeding invertebrates. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 165:91–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lévy M, Mémery L, Madec G (1998) The onset of a bloom after deep winter convection in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea: mesoscale process study with a primitive equation model. J Marine Syst 16:7–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig W, Dumont E, Meybeck M, Heussner S (2009) River discharges of water and nutrients to the Mediterranean and Black Sea: Major drivers for ecosystem changes during past and future decades? Prog Oceanogr 80:199–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackey MJ, Mackey DJ, Higgins HW, Wright SW (1996) CHEMTAX–a program for estimating class abundances from chemical marker: application to HPLC measurements of phytoplankton. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 144:265–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mallin MA, Paerl HW, Rudek J (1991) Seasonal phytoplankton composition, productivity and biomass in the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina. Estuar Coast Shelf S 32:609–623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mallin MA, Paerl HW, Rudek J, Bates PW (1993) Regulation of estuarine primary production by watershed rainfall and river flow. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 93:199–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malone TC, Crocker LH, Pike SE, Wendler BW (1988) Influences of river flow on the dynamics of phytoplankton production in a partially stratified estuary. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 48:235–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malouf RE, Breese WP (1977) Seasonal change in the effects of temperature and water flow rate on the growth of juvenile Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg). Aquaculture 12:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margalef R (1978) Life-forms of phytoplankton as survival alternatives in an unstable environment. Oceanol Acta 1(4):493–509

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall HG, Nesius KK (1996) Phytoplankton composition in relation to primary production in Chesapeake Bay. Mar Biol 125:611–617

    Google Scholar 

  • Newell RC, Field JG, Griffiths CL (1982) Energy balance and significance of micro-organisms in a kelp bed community. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 8:103–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NFRDI (2002) 2001 Annual report - assessing the environmental of coastal aquaculture grounds. National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Busan, 401 p

    Google Scholar 

  • NFRDI (2009) 2008 Annual report - environmental research of aquaculture farm 2008. National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Busan, 403 p

    Google Scholar 

  • NFRDI (2012) Standard manual of Pacific oyster hanging culture. National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Busan, 113 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Ngo TTT, Kang SG, Kang DH, Sorgeloos P, Choi KS (2006) Effect of culture depth on the proximate composition and reproduction of the Pacific oyster, Crassostea gigas from Gosung Bay, Korea. Aquaculture 253:712–720

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Officer CB, Smayda TJ, Mann R (1982) Benthic filter feeding: a natural eutrophication control. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 9:203–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okumus ì, Stirling HP (1998) Seasonal variations in the meat weight, condition index and biochemical composition of mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) in suspended culture in two Scottish sea lochs. Aquaculture 159:249–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Örnólfsdóttir EB, Lumsden SE, Pinckney JL (2004) Phytoplankton community growth-rate response to nutrient pulses in a shallow turbid estuary, Galveston Bay, Texas. J Plankton Res 26:325–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons TR, Maita Y, Lalli CM (1984) A manual of chemical and biological methods for seawater and analysis. Pergamon, Oxford, 173 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Poole, HH, Atkins WRG (1929) Photo-electric measurements of submarine illumination throughout the year. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 16:297–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian W, Kang Hs, Lee DK (2002) Distribution of seasonal rainfall in the East Asian monsoon region. Theor Appl Climatol 73:151–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riera P, Richard P (1996) Isotopic determination of food sources of Crassostrea gigas along a trophic gradient in the estuarine bay of Marennes-Oléron. Estuar Coast Shelf S 42:347–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riisgård HU, Larsen PS (2000) Comparative ecophysiology of active zoobenthic filter feeding, essence of current knowledge. J Sea Res 44:169–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodhouse PG, Roden CM, Burnell GM, Hensey MP, McMahon T, Ottway B, Ryan TH (1984) Food resource, gametogenesis and growth of Mytilus edulison the shore and in suspended culture: killary harbor, Ireland. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 64:513–529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sellner KG, Lacouture RV, Cibik SJ, Brindley A, Brownlee SG (1991) Importance of a winter dinoflagellate-microflagellate bloom in the Patuxent River estuary. Estuar Coast Shelf S 32:27–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Souchu P, Vaquer A, Collos Y, Landrein S, Deslous-Paoli JM, Bibent B (2001) Influence of shellfish farming activities on the biogeochemical composition of the water column in Thau lagoon. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 218:141–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sundbäck K, Snoeijis P (1991) Effects of nutrient enrichment on microalgal community composition in coastal shallow-water sediment system: an experimental study. Bot Mar 34:341–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tada K, Morishita M, Hamada K, Montani S, Yamada M (2001) Standing stock and production rate of phytoplankton and a red tide outbreak in a heavily eutrophic embayment, Dokai Bay, Japan. Mar Pollut Bull 42:1177–1186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zapata M, Rodriguez F, Garrido JL (2000) Separation of chlorophylls and carotenoids from marine phytoplankton: a new HPLC method using a reversed phase C8 column and pyridinecontaining mobile phases. Mar Ecol-Prog Ser 195:29–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhai L, Platt T, Tang C, Sathyendranath S, Walne A (2013) The response of phytoplankton to climate variability associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation. Deep-Sea Res Pt II 93:156–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou MJ, Shen ZL, Yu RC (2008) Responses of a coastal phytoplankton community to increased nutrient input from the Changjiang (Yangtze) River. Cont Shelf Res 28:1483–1489

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was financed by the National Institute of Fisheries Science (grant no. R-2015058). The authors are grateful to Donghoon Shin and Min Su Choi for their support in the collection of field samples and environmental data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, 61005, Korea

    Dongyoung Kim, Young-Jae Lee, Hee Yoon Kang & Jung Hyun Kwak

  2. Research and Development Planning Department and Marine Environment Research Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Busan, 46083, Korea

    Kee-Young Kwon & Won-Chan Lee

  3. Department of Marine Bioscience, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, 25457, Korea

    Jung Hyun Kwak

Authors
  1. Dongyoung Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Young-Jae Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hee Yoon Kang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kee-Young Kwon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Won-Chan Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jung Hyun Kwak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jung Hyun Kwak.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kim, D., Lee, YJ., Kang, H.Y. et al. Seasonal Variations in Primary Productivity and Biomass of Phytoplankton in Geoje-Hansan Bay on the Southern Coast of Korea. Ocean Sci. J. 54, 213–227 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12601-019-0005-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12601-019-0005-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation