The origin of the Ulva macroalgal blooms in the Yellow Sea in 2013

Jianheng Zhang; Yuanzi Huo; Hailong Wu; Kefeng Yu; Jang Kyun Kim; Charles Yarish; Yutao Qin; Caicai Liu; Ren Xu; Peimin He

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.09.049

The origin of the Ulva macroalgal blooms in the Yellow Sea in 2013

Mar Pollut Bull. 2014 Dec 15;89(1-2):276-283. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.09.049. Epub 2014 Oct 14.

Authors

Jianheng Zhang¹, Yuanzi Huo², Hailong Wu², Kefeng Yu², Jang Kyun Kim³, Charles Yarish⁴, Yutao Qin⁵, Caicai Liu⁵, Ren Xu⁵, Peimin He⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 1 University Place, Stamford, CT 06901, USA.
² College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
³ Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, 1 University Place, Stamford, CT 06901, USA.
⁴ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 1 University Place, Stamford, CT 06901, USA.
⁵ East China Sea Environmental Monitoring Center of State Oceanic Administration, Shanghai 200137, China.
⁶ College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China. Electronic address: pmhe@shou.edu.cn.

PMID: 25444626
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.09.049

Abstract

Green algal blooms have occurred in the Yellow Sea for seven consecutive years from 2007 to 2013. In this study, satellite image analysis and field shipboard observations indicated that the Ulva blooms in 2013 originated in the Rudong coast. The spatial distribution of Ulva microscopic propagules in the Southern Yellow Sea also supported that the blooms originated in the Rudong coast. In addition, multi-source satellite data were used to evaluate the biomass of green algae on the Pyropia aquaculture rafts. The results showed that approximately 2784 tons of Ulva prolifera were attached to the rafts and possessed the same internal transcribed spacer and 5S rDNA sequence as the dominant species in the 2013 blooms. We conclude that the significant biomass of Ulva species on the Pyropia rafts during the harvesting season in radial tidal sand ridges played an important role in the rapid development of blooms in the Yellow Sea.

Keywords: Green tide; Macroalgal blooms; Pyropia aquaculture; Source; Ulva prolifera; Yellow Sea.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aquaculture*
Biomass
China
Chlorophyta
Eutrophication*
Oceans and Seas
Remote Sensing Technology
Seasons
Seaweed
Ulva*