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Phytoplankton biomass and size structure in Xiangshan Bay, China: Current state and historical comparison under
Zhibing Jiang1, Ping Du2, Jingjing Liu3
1Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry, State Oceanic Administration, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China; Function Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, China; State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China.
Abstract:
To explore the effects of coastal eutrophication and warming on phytoplankton biomass and cell size, we analyzed current and historical data for size-fractionated chlorophyll a (chla) in Xiangshan Bay, China. Results showed that micro- and nanophytoplankton overwhelmingly dominated (>84%) in all seasons. The contribution of micro-chla was significantly lower in warm than in cold seasons, whereas contribution of pico-chla showed the opposite result. Overall, the micro-chla contribution increased with decreasing pico-chla contribution from the stable, clear, eutrophic upper bay to the turbulent, turbid lower bay, indicating that phytoplankton size structure on a spatial scale was largely shaped by water column stability and light rather than by nutrients. Since the 1980s, phytoplankton biomass, primary productivity, and micro-chla contribution in Xiangshan Bay have increased sharply with increasing nutrient amounts and temperature. Additionally, it seems that algal bloom seasonality has shifted forward from spring to winter since the power plant operations in 2006.
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