Long-term variations of phytoplankton community in relations to environmental factors in Deep Bay, China, from 1994 to 2016

Rui Wang; Xiaowan Liu; Jiajun Wu; Tak-Cheung Wai; Pingping Shen; Paul K S Lam

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111010

Long-term variations of phytoplankton community in relations to environmental factors in Deep Bay, China, from 1994 to 2016

Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Apr:153:111010. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111010. Epub 2020 Feb 29.

Authors

Rui Wang¹, Xiaowan Liu¹, Jiajun Wu², Tak-Cheung Wai³, Pingping Shen⁴, Paul K S Lam⁵

Affiliations

¹ Shenzhen Key Laboratory for the Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity, Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China.
² Shenzhen Key Laboratory for the Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity, Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China; The State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China.
³ The State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China.
⁴ Ocean School, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China. Electronic address: ppshen@graduate.hku.hk.
⁵ Shenzhen Key Laboratory for the Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity, Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China; The State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China. Electronic address: bhpksl@cityu.edu.hk.

PMID: 32275556
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111010

Abstract

Long-term effects of environmental factors on phytoplankton community in Deep Bay, Hong Kong, were investigated from 1994 to 2016. Phytoplankton community experienced three important shifts: small flagellates and Chroomonas spp. dominated from 1994 to 2006. Heavy blooms of diatoms Skeletonema costatum and Thalassiosira spp. occurred and became the dominant species between 2007 and 2009. Phytoplankton community was dominated by small flagellates and Chroomonas spp. from 2010 to 2015, and their abundance was much higher than earlier periods. Abundance of Chroomonas spp. decreased sharply in 2016, and Thalassiosira spp. became the dominant species. Phytoplankton community changed from consisting mainly of small flagellates and Chroomonas spp. to more diatoms, changing from ~90% to ~45% for other species abundance and from <10% to ~55% for diatoms. Nitrite, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand, salinity, suspended solids and turbidity were more influential on phytoplankton variation (23.65% explained by all the variables).

Keywords: Deep Bay; Environmental factors; Multivariate analysis; Phytoplankton.

MeSH terms

Bays
China
Diatoms*
Environmental Monitoring*
Hong Kong
Phytoplankton*
Seasons