Phytoplankton biomarkers in surface sediments from Liaodong Bay and their potential as indicators of primary productivity

Abstract

This paper reported the distribution of phytoplankton biomarkers in surface sediments of Liaodong Bay, Bohai Sea. The primary productivity indicated by biomarkers is consistent with the results from modern water column phytoplankton surveys, indicating that the biomarkers can be used to reconstruct the primary productivity. The productivity in the bay mouth is higher than in the shallow coast area, indicating that the main controlling factor is the turbidity rather than terrestrial nutrients. The high primary productivity near Juhua Island is mainly related to eutrophication caused by human culture and land-based sewage discharge. The relative proportion of biomarkers showed that diatom and dinoflagellate contributed more to the coastal area and were mainly related to the competitive advantage under the condition of high nutrient salts, while a high proportion of haptophytes was found in the middle, which corresponded to the high salinity water.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Liaodong Bay; Planktonic community structure; Primary productivity.