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Flocculation of Ulva microscopic propagules using modified clay: a mesocosm experiment

  • Ecology
  • Published:
Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Microscopic propagules of Ulva species (UMPs) spread on Subei Shoal are believed to play a significant role in the formation of the Yellow Sea green tide. Previous laboratory and ship-based studies indicated that modified clay (MC) can effectively remove UMPs from the water column and restrict their germination. To evaluate the effectiveness of this method under natural conditions, a mesocosm experiment was conducted on the Zhugensha sandbank on Subei Shoal. The results show that the suspended particles on the sandbank would partially disturb the flocculation process between the MC and UMPs. However, the MC at a proper dose could effectively remove UMPs from the water column and decrease the adhesion and germination of UMPs on the nylon ropes that comprised the mariculture rafts by >75%. This method was proven a potential strategy to restrict the initial biomass accumulation of green algae on Subei Shoal. However, field trials in larger time-space scales are still needed to assess the efficiency of this method when used in the open sea.

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Data Availability Statement

All data generated and/or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Jing Li, Xiuxian Song, Xin Fan & Zhiming Yu

  2. Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, China

    Jing Li, Xiuxian Song, Xin Fan & Zhiming Yu

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xiuxian Song & Zhiming Yu

  4. Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Xiuxian Song & Zhiming Yu

Authors
  1. Jing Li
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  2. Xiuxian Song
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  3. Xin Fan
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  4. Zhiming Yu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiuxian Song.

Additional information

Supported by the AoShan Technological Innovation Program from Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (No. 2016ASKJ02-1), the Taishan Scholars Climbing Program of Shandong Province of 2019, and the Marine S&T Fund of Shandong Province for Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao) (No. 2019SDKJ0504-2).

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Li, J., Song, X., Fan, X. et al. Flocculation of Ulva microscopic propagules using modified clay: a mesocosm experiment. J. Ocean. Limnol. 38, 1283–1291 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-020-9348-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-020-9348-6

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