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Chemical composition and biomass of Coscinodiscus asteromphalus in Jiaozhou Bay, China

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Abstract

The large diatom Coscinodiscus asteromphalus was separated from seawater in Jiaozhou Bay using a repeated precipitation method and then its chemical compositions of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and silicon (Si) combined with chlorophyll a (Chl a) were examined for the first time for a natural population in this study. Results show that the contents of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, and Chl a in C. asteromphalus cells were 35,610.5, 9374.2, 352.4, 1105.5, and 1767.0 pg/cell, respectively, and the corresponding molar ratios of C/N, N/P, Si/P, and Si/N in C. asteromphalus cells were 4.5, 66.0, 2.7, and 0.07, respectively, which are different from the Redfield ratio. Additionally, their C/Chl a mass ratio was 23.2. High N/P ratio and low Si/P and Si/N ratios in C. asteromphalus cells were consistent with those in particulates of any size and seawater in the bay, reflecting an ecological response of phytoplankton to the nutrient structure of seawater, suggesting Si limitation to phytoplankton growth. The fact that C. asteromphalus spread all over the bay mainly in summer and autumn and the fact that Chl a content in C. asteromphalus cells could account for a maximum percentage of 78% of those in the water column suggest that the contribution of C. asteromphalus to phytoplankton biomass was significant in Jiaozhou Bay.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by NSFC No. 40776043 and Jiaozhou Bay Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Zhi-Liang Shen, Qian Shi & Sheng-Jun Pan

  2. Jiaozhou Bay Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, , Qingdao, 266071, China

    Shan Zheng

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  1. Zhi-Liang Shen
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Shen, ZL., Shi, Q., Zheng, S. et al. Chemical composition and biomass of Coscinodiscus asteromphalus in Jiaozhou Bay, China. Environ Monit Assess 189, 94 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5782-0

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