Weekly variations of nutrients and their associations with phytoplankton blooms in the urban coastal waters of Andaman Sea coast: A case study in Patong Bay, Phuket, Thailand

Thanakorn Jiwarungrueangkul; Opnithi Kongpuen; Chalermrat Sangmanee; Mathinee Yucharoen; Danai Tipmanee; Sornsiri Phongphattarawat; Phongtheera Buapet; Penjai Sompongchaiyakul

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115824

Weekly variations of nutrients and their associations with phytoplankton blooms in the urban coastal waters of Andaman Sea coast: A case study in Patong Bay, Phuket, Thailand

Mar Pollut Bull. 2024 Jan:198:115824. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115824. Epub 2023 Dec 1.

Authors

Thanakorn Jiwarungrueangkul¹, Opnithi Kongpuen², Chalermrat Sangmanee³, Mathinee Yucharoen⁴, Danai Tipmanee⁵, Sornsiri Phongphattarawat², Phongtheera Buapet², Penjai Sompongchaiyakul⁶

Affiliations

¹ Marine Environment and Geoinformatics Technology Research Unit, Faculty of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Phuket 83120, Thailand; Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change Research Center, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai Campus, Songkhla 90110, Thailand. Electronic address: thanakorn.j@phuket.psu.ac.th.
² Faculty of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Phuket 83120, Thailand.
³ Phuket Marine Biological Center, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Phuket 83000, Thailand.
⁴ Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change Research Center, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai Campus, Songkhla 90110, Thailand; Marine and Coastal Resources Institute, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai Campus, Songkhla 90110, Thailand.
⁵ Marine Environment and Geoinformatics Technology Research Unit, Faculty of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Phuket 83120, Thailand.
⁶ Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.

PMID: 38039572
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115824

Abstract

Nutrient inputs to coastal waters are among the main contributors to phytoplankton blooms that can damage coastal ecosystems. To understand the main causal factors and timing of phytoplankton blooms in Patong Bay, where phytoplankton blooms have frequent occurred for the last decade, variations in phytoplankton abundance and the dissolved inorganic nutrients (nitrogen (DIN), phosphorus (DIP), and dissolved silica (DSi)) were monitored weekly from December 2021 to December 2022. The results revealed that ratios of DIP and DSi to DIN in seawater had increased rapidly in approximately 1-7 days prior to the blooms of Chaetoceros and Eunotogramma. This suggests that the diatom blooms in this area are significantly controlled by an excess of DIP and DSi, in otherwise appropriate environmental conditions. Our findings provide a thorough understanding of the role of excess nutrients on phytoplankton blooms in urban coastal waters, supporting informed coastal management actions.

Keywords: Andaman Sea; Chaetoceros; Diatoms; Dissolved silica; Eutrophication.

MeSH terms

Bays
Diatoms*
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Eutrophication
Nitrogen / analysis
Nutrients
Phytoplankton*
Thailand

Substances

Nitrogen