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Factors affecting the abundance and community structure of the phytoplankton in northern South China Sea in the summer of 2008: a biomarker study

  • Article
  • Geochemistry
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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

Phytoplankton biomarkers were analyzed using suspended particles collected from the northern South China Sea (SCS) during the summer cruise of 2008, with the goal of understanding the algal community structure and biomass distribution pattern in the summer season. The results indicated that the distribution of algal biomarkers in surface water of SCS was impacted and constrained by the local hydrological settings: the high biological community generally appeared in Pearl River estuaries, southwestern off Taiwan island and southeastern off Hainan Island, while the relatively lower biomass was found in the deep basin and strait areas. Diatoms were the dominant phytoplankton species, which were followed by dinoflagellates. Coccolithophorid biomass gradually increased toward the open ocean. The present work indicated that the algal biomarkers effectively documented the variability of the phytoplankton biomass and community structure as well as their linkage with the oceanic dynamics in SCS during summer 2008. This research provided not only the foundation for the application of algal lipids in the modern ocean ecosystem, but also the basis for the reconstruction of the past oceanic algal community structures.

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Acknowledgments

Surface water was collected in the summer of 2008 during the northern SCS Open Cruise by R/V Shiyan 3, SCS Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. All the teachers, students and the crew assisting the sampling are heartfelt thanked. Three anonymous reviewers and an invited editor are thanked for their helpful comments and suggestions to improve the manuscript. Prof. Chuanlun Zhang in University of Georgia is thanked for his assistant on the English writing. This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB955704) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40976022, 41376046, 40906026 and 41023004). Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (12ZZ031) and the fundamental research funds for the Central Universities also provided partial funding.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Li Li, Jie Liu, Juan He & Hui Wang

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  1. Li Li
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  2. Jie Liu
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  3. Juan He
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  4. Hui Wang
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Correspondence to Li Li.

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Li, L., Liu, J., He, J. et al. Factors affecting the abundance and community structure of the phytoplankton in northern South China Sea in the summer of 2008: a biomarker study. Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 981–991 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-0106-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-0106-4

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