Phytoplankton community structure and environmental factors during the outbreak of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish in Xisha Islands, South China Sea

Abstract

The “larval starvation hypothesis” proposed that the growing frequency of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (CoTS) outbreaks could be attributed to increased availability of phytoplankton. However, comprehensive field investigation on the living environment of CoTS larvae and the availability of phytoplankton are still lacking. A cruise was conducted in June 2022 in Xisha Islands, South China Sea, to study the interaction between environmental conditions and phytoplankton communities during CoTS outbreak period. The average concentrations of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (0.05 ± 0.01 μmol L−1), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (0.66 ± 0.8 μmol L−1) and chlorophyll a (0.05 ± 0.05 μg L−1) suggested that phytoplankton may be limited for CoTS larvae in Xisha Islands. Microscopic observation and high-throughput sequencing were used to study the composition and structure of the phytoplankton communities. Bacillariophyta predominated in phytoplankton communities with the highest abundance and species richness. 29 dominant species, including 4 species with size-range preferred by CoTS larvae, were identified in Xisha Islands. The diversity index of all stations indicated a species-rich and structure-stable phytoplankton community in Xisha Islands during the period of CoTS outbreak, which may contribute to CoTS outbreak. These findings revealed the structure of phytoplankton community and environmental factors in the study area during CoTS outbreak, providing the groundwork for future research into the causes and processes of CoTS outbreak.