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The response of spring phytoplankton assemblage to diluted water and upwelling in the eutrophic Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary

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Abstract

A comprehensive study on the phytoplankton standing stocks, species composition and dominant species in the eutrophic Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary (CE) was conducted to reveal the response of phytoplankton assemblage to Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW) and upwelling in the spring. Phytoplankton presented peak standing stocks (13.03 μg/L of chlorophyll a, 984.5×103 cells/L of phytoplankton abundance) along the surface isohaline of 25. Sixty-six species in 41 genera of Bacillariophyta and 33 species in 19 genera of Pyrrophyta were identified, as well as 5 species in Chlorophyta and Chrysophyta. Karenia mikimotoi was the most dominant species, followed by Prorocentrum dentatum, Paralia sulcata, Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima and Skeletonema costatum. A bloom of K. mikimotoi was observed in the stratified stations, where the water was characterized by low nitrate, low phosphate, low turbidity, and specific ranges of temperature (18–22 °C) and salinity (27–32). K. mikimotoi and P. dentatum accumulated densely in the upper layers along the isohaline of 25. S. costatum was distributed in the west of the isohaline of 20. Benthonic P. sulcata presented high abundance near the bottom, while spread upward at upwelling stations. CDW resulted in overt gradients of salinity, turbidity and nutritional condition, determining the spatial distribution of phytoplankton species. The restricted upwelling resulted in the upward transport of P. sulcata and exclusion of S. costatum, K. mikimotoi and P. dentatum. The results suggested that CDW and upwelling were of importance in regulating the structure and distribution of phytoplankton assemblage in the CE and the East China Sea.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the colleagues from Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences for their assistance in field and laboratory work.

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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

    Shuqun Song, Zhao Li, Caiwen Li & Zhiming Yu

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

    Shuqun Song, Zhao Li, Caiwen Li & Zhiming Yu

Authors
  1. Shuqun Song
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  2. Zhao Li
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  3. Caiwen Li
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  4. Zhiming Yu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Caiwen Li.

Additional information

Foundation item: The National Natural Science Foundation of China-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers under contract No. U1606404; the Youth Project of Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province under contract No. ZR2014DQ029; the Youth Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41606128; the Scientific and Technological Innovation Project of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology under contract Nos 2016ASKJ02 and 2015ASKJ02; the Aoshan Talents Program of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology under contract No. 2015ASTP.

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Song, S., Li, Z., Li, C. et al. The response of spring phytoplankton assemblage to diluted water and upwelling in the eutrophic Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 36, 101–110 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-017-1094-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-017-1094-z

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