Abstract
In the past few decades, with the rapid economic development of China and Vietnam, the marine ecological environment of Beibu Gulf is facing increasing pressure. To understand the impact of anthropogenic inputs on marine ecology, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to study phytoplankton in this paper. We examined the influence of anthropogenic inputs on phytoplankton biomass and community structure in a subtropical estuary. Anthropogenic inputs had significantly increased the nutrient concentration in the estuary between 2010 and 2015. We observed that phosphorus limitation has been greatly relieved in 2015. However, the biomass of dominant phytoplankton was lower in 2015 than in 2010, possibly due to the expansion of oyster farming in the estuary. The coverage of oyster rafts was estimated to be 26.3 km2. The presence of dense oysters may significantly reduce the phytoplankton biomass. The proportion of Diatoms decreased while some nano- and pico-phytoplankton (like Cryptophytes and Prasinophytes) increased, which indicated that oysters changed not only the biomass but also the size of phytoplankton communities. This study improved our understanding of anthropogenic inputs on phytoplankton communities in subtropical estuary.
Highlights
Phytoplankton is the main primary producer in marine ecosystems, providing an abundant food source for fish larvae and zooplankton and playing an important role in the top-down effects on secondary consumers [1]
Our finding provides a scientific basis for the sustainable development of a subtropical estuary
Shellfish farming activity is common in Qinzhou Bay
Summary
Phytoplankton is the main primary producer in marine ecosystems, providing an abundant food source for fish larvae and zooplankton and playing an important role in the top-down effects on secondary consumers [1]. Phytoplankton individuals are small in size and large in number. They are sensitive to environmental changes that some groups can be used as indicators of specific pollutants or environmental changes [2,3]. The most common example is the increased nutrient levels in bays, which often lead to eutrophication This usually results in a significant increase in the phytoplankton biomass and even red tides [4]. Estuaries are ideal for shellfish farming which strongly affects phytoplankton communities. Land reclamation is common in estuaries and bays Such reclamation can increase suspended solids in the water reducing light transmittance, changing the hydrodynamic conditions, and increasing the spatial heterogeneity of plankton communities [11,12]
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