Variations in the nutrient concentration and composition in Liaodong Bay under long-term human activities

Ke Wang; Qinsheng Wei; Huimin Jian; Zhimei Gao; Qingzhen Yao

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114016

Variations in the nutrient concentration and composition in Liaodong Bay under long-term human activities

Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Sep:182:114016. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114016. Epub 2022 Aug 11.

Authors

Ke Wang¹, Qinsheng Wei², Huimin Jian³, Zhimei Gao¹, Qingzhen Yao⁴

Affiliations

¹ Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
² First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, 6 Xianxialing Road, Qingdao 266061, China.
³ Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China. Electronic address: Jianhm@ouc.edu.cn.
⁴ Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China; Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China.

PMID: 35964432
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114016

Abstract

This paper analyzed the long-term variations in nutrients in Liaodong Bay and their potential influencing factors based on historical data from 1978 to 2019. Under the influence of both human activities and natural changes, the concentration of DIN increased approximately 4-fold from the end of the 1990s to the mid-2010s, while DIP and DSi concentrations decreased from the beginning to the end of the 1980s and have since increased again. Asynchronous changes in nutrient levels have led to changes in the nutrient composition, which has caused a series of ecological effects. The total phytoplankton abundance decreased from the 1980s to the end of the 1990s and then increased again. Additionally, the phytoplankton composition shifted from a diatom-dominated to a dinoflagellate-dominated system, and the dominant species of zooplankton changed. Harmful algal blooms (HABs) rarely occurred before the 1980s but have frequently occurred since the end of the 1990s.

Keywords: Human activities; Liaodong Bay; Long-term variation; Nutrients.

MeSH terms

Bays*
China
Environmental Monitoring*
Human Activities
Humans
Nutrients
Phytoplankton