Recent climate trends on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, China

In arid regions, mountains fulfill important ecological and economic functions for the surrounding lowlands. In the scenario of global warming, mountain ecosystems change rapidly, especially in the arid region of northwestern China. This paper provides an assessment of the changes in temperature and precipitation in the historical records of climate on the northern slopes of the eastern Tianshan Mountains. A Mann-Kendall nonparametric trend and Sen＇s tests are employed to analyze the interannual changes and innerannual variability in temperature and precipitatiofi in the regions of low to high altitude. The present study finds that the largest increases in annual temperature are observed at stations in the low altitude regions. The significant increasing trends in temperature tend to occur mainly in late winter and early spring at stations from middle to high altitude, but in summer and autumn at stations of low altitudes. The increasing trends in annual precipitation are found from the middle to high altitude areas, but decreasing trends are found in the low altitude areas. The significant increasing trends in precipitation occur mostly in winter and earlier spring at stations from the middle to high altitudes, while the increasing and decreasing trend coexists at stations of low altitude with most of the significant trend changes occurring in March, June and August.     

SPECIES COMPOSITION, HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTION AND SEASONAL SUCCESSION OF PHYTOPLANKTON IN THE CHANNEL FROM DONGTING LAKE TO THE CHANGJIANG RIVER, CHINA

The species composition, horizontal distribution and seasonal succession of the phyto-plankton at five sampling stations in the channel between Dongting Lake and the Changjiang River, China were studied from May 1995 to December 1997. A total of 416 taxa were observed; diatoms comprised the most diverse taxonomic group representing 58.2 % of the total species. The β-mezotrophic indicators were 92 taxa or 22 % of the total, the a-mezotrophic or α, β-eutrophic indicators decreased distinctly to 20 taxa or 4.8 % of the total. The species number and composition of various phyla were approximately similar at Stations 1, 2, 3 and 4, but at Station 5 the number of species was the minimum and the ratio of diatoms to total phytoplankton in the number of species was the highest. In seasonal succession of the phytoplank-ton species, the number was the highest in May and June, lower in December, January, March and July in the channel. The dominant species were different in different months. The ratio of diatoms species number to blue green algae and green algae species number diminished gradually from winter to summer and autumn, and then increased gradually from autumn to winter and early spring in the annual cycle. Margalef, Simpson and Shannon—Weaver diversity indices changed in different months, their values were higher in winter, lower in summer. Nygaard‘s diatoms quotients were lower in winter, then in spring and autumn, higher in summer. These results indicated that the water quality was the best in winter, better in spring and autumn than in summer. The relationship between the structure of the phytoplankton communi-ty and the water environmental quality was discussed.     

Climate Changes in Northeastern China During Last Four Decades

The northeastern China is a sensitive region of climate change, whose detailed trend of climate changes is highly interesting. In this study, this kind of variation trend was analyzed. Potential evapotranspiration (PE) and moisture index (MI) were modeled by using Thornthwaite scheme based on the observation data of 1961-2004 from 94 meteorological stations. To describe the climate fluctuation in the northeastern China in 1961-2004, the linear regression method was used to analyze the variation trends of mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, PE and MI. Mann-Kendall method was used to test the significant difference. The results show a general increasing tendency in mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, PE and MI. However increasing tendency was more significant in mean annual temperature and PE than in mean annual precipitation and MI. Analysis of seasonal climate variation indicates that there showed positive trends in winter and in spring, while the positive trend was more significant in winter than in spring. Furthermore, the relations between climate changes and geographical factors were analyzed, the results show that both climate factors and their interannual variability were correlated to latitude, longitude and altitude, suggesting that latitude is the most climate factor affecting climate changes, followed by altitude and longitude.     

Elevational patterns of temperature and humidity in the middle Tianshan Mountain area in Central Asia

The vertical distribution of vegetation types along an elevational gradient in mountain areas largely depends on the elevational changes in air temperature and humidity. In this study, we presented the seasonal and diurnal variations in the elevational gradients of air temperature and humidity on the southern and northern slopes in the middle Tianshan Mountain Range using data collected throughout the year via HOBO data loggers. The measurements were conducted at 12 different elevations from 1548 to 3277 m from September 2004 to August 2005. The results showed that the annual mean air temperature decreased along the elevational gradients with temperature lapse rates of(0.71±0.20)°C/100 m and(0.59±0.05)°C/100 m on the northern and southern slopes, respectively. The annual mean absolute humidity significantly decreased with increasing elevation on the northern slope but showed no significant trend on the southern slope. The annual mean relative humidity did not show a significant trend on the northern slope but increased with increasing elevation on the southern slope. The mean air temperature lapse rate exhibited significant seasonal variation, which is steeper insummer and shallower in winter, and this value varied between 0.37°C/100 m and 0.75°C/100 m on the southern slope and between 0.30°C/100 m and 1.02°C/100 m on the northern slope. The mean absolute and relative humidity also exhibited significant seasonal variations on both slopes, with the maximum occurring in summer and the minimum occurring in winter or spring. The monthly diurnal range of air temperature on both slopes was higher in spring than in winter. The annual range of air temperature on the southern slope was higher than that on the northern slope. Our results suggest that significant spatiotemporal variations in humidity and temperature lapse rate are useful when analyzing the relationships between species range sizes and climate in mountain areas.     

Vegetation change of ecotone in west of Northeast China plain using time-series remote sensing data

Multi-temporal series of satellite SPOT-VEGETATION normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) data from 1998 to 2007 were used for analyzing vegetation change of the ecotone in the west of the Northeast China Plain. The yearly and monthly maximal values,anomalies and change rates of NDVI and NDWI were calculated to reveal the interannual and seasonal changes in vegetation cover and vegetation water content. Linear regression method was adopted to characterize the trends in vegetation change. The yearly maximal NDVI decreased from 0.41 in 1998 to 0.37 in 2007,implying the decreasing trend of vegetation activity. There was a significant decrease of maximal NDVI in spring and summer over the study period,while an increase trend was observed in autumn. The vegetation-improved regions and vegetation-degraded regions occupied 17.03% and 20.30% of the study area,respectively. The maximal NDWI over growing season dropped by 0.027 in 1998–2007,and about 15.15% of the study area showed a decreasing trend of water content. Vegetation water stress in autumn was better than that in spring. Vegetation cover and water content variations were sensitive to annual precipitation,autumn precipitation and summer temperature. The vegetation degradation trend in this ecotone might be induced by the warm-drying climate especially continuous spring and summer drought in the recent ten years.     

Changes in the thermal and hydraulic regime within the active layer in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The change trends of air temperature,precipitation and evaporation from 1999 to 2008 shows that the climate in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau permafrost region had become warmer.The analysis of the systematic active-layer data monitoring network along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway indicated that the active-layer thickness had been increasing and the soil temperature was rising.The soil temperature was rising in winter but not at the end of spring or during the entire summer.With thickening and warming of the active layer,the liquid water content of the active layer had an obvious downward migration and liquid water content in the top horizons decreased,but in the deeper horizons it increased.     

Seasonal changes in phytoplankton biomass and dominant species in the Changjiang River Estuary and adjacent seas: General trends based on field survey data 1959–2009

The characteristics of seasonal variation in phytoplankton biomass and dominant species in the Changjiang River Estuary and adjacent seas were discussed based on field investigation data from 1959 to 2009. The field data from 1981 to 2004 showed that the Chlorophyll-a concentration in surface seawater was between 0.4 and 8.5 μg dm-3. The seasonal changes generally presented a bimodal trend, with the biomass peaks occurring in May and August, and Chlorophyll-a concentration was the lowest in winter. Seasonal biomass changes were mainly controlled by temperature and nutrient levels. From the end of autumn to the next early spring, phytoplankton biomass was mainly influenced by temperature, and in other seasons, nutrient level(including the nutrient supply from the terrestrial runoffs) was the major influence factor. Field investigation data from 1959 to 2009 demonstrated that diatoms were the main phytoplankton in this area, and Skeletonema costatum, Pseudo-nitzschia pungens, Coscinodiscus oculus-iridis, Thalassinoema nitzschioides, Paralia sulcata, Chaetoceros lorenzianus, Chaetoceros curvisetus, and Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu were common dominant species. The seasonal variations in major dominant phytoplankton species presented the following trends: 1) Skeletonema(mainly S. costatum) was dominant throughout the year; and 2) seasonal succession trends were Coscinodiscus(spring) →Chaetoceros(summer and autumn) → Coscinodiscus(winter). The annual dominance of S. costatum was attributed to its environmental eurytopicity and long standing time in surface waters. The seasonal succession of Coscinodiscus and Chaetoceros was associated with the seasonal variation in water stability and nutrient level in this area. On the other hand, long-term field data also indicated obvious interannual variation of phytoplankton biomass and community structure in the Changjiang River Estuary and adjacent seas: average annual phytoplankton biomass and dinoflagellate proportion both presented increased trends during the 1950 s-2000 s.     

Impacts of climate change on net primary productivity in arid and semiarid regions of China

In recent years, with the constant change in the global climate, the effect of climate factors on net primary productivity(NPP) has become a hot research topic. However, two opposing views have been presented in this research area: global NPP increases with global warming, and global NPP decreases with global warming. The main reasons for these two opposite results are the tremendous differences among seasonal and annual climate variables, and the growth of plants in accordance with these climate variables. Therefore, it will fail to fully clarify the relation between vegetation growth and climate changes by research that relies solely on annual data. With seasonal climate variables, we may clarify the relation between vegetation growth and climate changes more accurately. Our research examined the arid and semiarid areas in China(ASAC), which account for one quarter of the total area of China. The ecological environment of these areas is fragile and easily affected by human activities. We analyzed the influence of climate changes, especially the changes in seasonal climate variables, on NPP, with Climatic Research Unit(CRU) climatic data and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) satellite remote data, for the years 2000–2010. The results indicate that: for annual climatic data, the percentage of the ASAC in which NPP is positively correlated with temperature is 66.11%, and 91.47% of the ASAC demonstrates a positive correlation between NPP and precipitation. Precipitation is more positively correlated with NPP than temperature in the ASAC. For seasonal climatic data, the correlation between NPP and spring temperature shows significant regional differences. Positive correlation areas are concentrated in the eastern portion of the ASAC, while the western section of the ASAC generally shows a negative correlation. However, in summer, most areas in the ASAC show a negative correlation between NPP and temperature. In autumn, precipitation is less important in the west, as opposed to the east, in which it is critically important. Temperatures in winter are a limiting factor for NPP throughout the region. The findings of this research not only underline the importance of seasonal climate variables for vegetation growth, but also suggest that the effects of seasonal climate variables on NPP should be explored further in related research in the future.     

Seasonal Changes in Phytoplankton Biomass and Dominant Species in the Changjiang River Estuary and Adjacent Seas：General Trends Based on Field Survey Data 1959-2009

The characteristics of seasonal variation in phytoplankton biomass and dominant species in the Changjiang River Estuary and adjacent seas were discussed based on field investigation data from 1959 to 2009. The field data from 1981 to 2004 showed that the Chlorophyll-a concentration in surface seawater was between 0.4 and 8.5 ktg dm-3. The seasonal changes generally presented a bimodal trend, with the biomass peaks occurring in May and August, and Chlorophyll-a concentration was the lowest in winter. Seasonal biomass changes were mainly controlled by temperature and nutrient levels. From the end of autumn to the next early spring, phytoplankton biomass was mainly influenced by temperature, and in other seasons, nutrient level （including the nutrient supply from the terrestrial runoffs） was the major influence factor. Field investigation data from 1959 to 2009 demonstrated that dia- toms were the main phytoplankton in this area, and Skeletonerna costatum, Pseudo-nitzschia pungens, Coscinodiscus oculus-iridis, Thalassinoema nitzschioides, Paralia sulcata, Chaetoceros lorenzianus, Chaetoceros curvisetus, and Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu were common dominant species. The seasonal variations in major dominant phytoplankton species presented the following trends： 1） Skeletonema （mainly S. costatum） was dominant throughout the year; and 2） seasonal succession trends were Coscinodiscus （spring） →Chaetoceros （summer and autumn） → Coscinodiscus （winter）. The annual dominance of S. costatum was attributed to its environmental eurytopicity and long standing time in surface waters. The seasonal succession of Coscinodiscus and Chaetoceros was associated with the seasonal variation in water stability and nutrient level in this area. On the other hand, long-term field data also indicated obvious interannual variation of phytoplankton biomass and community structure in the Changjiang River Estuary and adjacent seas： average annual phytoplankton biomass and dinoflagellate proportion both presented inc     

Climate change and its effects on runoff of Kaidu River,Xinjiang, China: A multiple time-scale analysis

This paper applied an integrated method combining grey relation analysis, wavelet analysis and statistical analysis to study climate change and its effects on runoff of the Kaidu River at multi-time scales. Maj or findings are as follows： 1） Climatic factors were ranked in the order of importance to annual runoff as average annual temperature, average temperature in autumn, average temperature in winter, annual precipitation, precipitation in flood season, av- erage temperature in summer, and average temperature in spring. The average annual temperature and annual precipitation were selected as the two representative factors that impact the annual runoff. 2） From the 32-year time scale, the annual runoff and the average annual temperature presented a significantly rising trend, whereas the annual precipitation showed little increase over the period of 1957-2002. By changing the time scale from 32-year to 4-year, we observed nonlinear trends with increasingly obvious oscillations for annual runoff, average annual temperature, and annual precipitation. 3） The changes of the runoff and the regional climate are closely related, indicating that the runoff change is the result of the regional climate changes. With time scales ranging from 32-year, 16-year, 8-year and to 4-year, there are highly significant linear correlations between the annual runoff and the average annual temperature and the annual precipitation.     

Evaluation of ERA-interim monthly temperature data over the Tibetan Plateau

In this study, surface air temperature from 75 meteorological stations above 3000 m on the Tibetan Plateau are applied for evaluation of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF) third-generation reanalysis product ERA-Interim in the period of 1979-2010. High correlations ranging from 0.973 to 0.999 indicate that ERA-Interim could capture the annual cycle very well. However, an average root-meansquare error(rmse) of 3.7°C for all stations reveals that ERA-Interim could not be applied directly for the individual sites. The biases can be mainly attributed to the altitude differences between ERA-Interim grid points and stations. An elevation correction method based on monthly lapse rates is limited to reduce the bias for all stations. Generally, ERA-Interim captured the Plateau-Wide annual and seasonal climatologies very well. The spatial variance is highly related to the topographic features of the TP. The temperature increases significantly(10°C- 15°C) from the western to the eastern Tibetan Plateau for all seasons, in particular during winter and summer. A significant warming trend(0.49°C/decade) is found over the entire Tibetan Plateau using station time series from 1979-2010. ERA-Interim captures the annual warming trend with an increase rate of 0.33°C /decade very well. The observation data and ERA-Interim data both showed the largest warming trends in winter with values of 0.67°C/decade and 0.41°C/decade, respectively. We conclude that in general ERA-Interim captures the temperature trends very well and ERA-Interim is reliable for climate change investigation over the Tibetan Plateau under the premise of cautious interpretation.     

Trends in temperature and precipitation extremes over Circum-Bohai-Sea region, China

Trends in temperature and precipitation extremes from 1961 to 2008 have been investigated over Circum-Bohai-Sea region,China using daily temperature and precipitation data of 63 meteorological stations.The re-sults show that at most stations,there is a significant increase in the annual frequency of warm days and warm nights,as well as a significant decrease in the annual frequency of cold days,cold nights,frost days,and annual diurnal temperature range(DTR).Their regional averaged changes are 2.06 d/10yr,3.95 d/10yr,-1.88 d/10yr,-4.27 d/10yr,-4.21 d/10yr and-0.20℃/10yr,respectively.Seasonal changes display similar patterns to the annual results,but there is a large seasonal difference.A significant warming trend is detected at both annual and seasonal scales,which is more contributed by changes of indices defined by daily minimum temperature than those defined by daily maximum tem-perature.For precipitation indices,the regional annual extreme precipitation displays a weak decrease in terms of magnitude and frequency,i.e.extreme precipitation days(RD95p),intensity(RINTEN),proportion(RPROP) and maximum consecutive wet days(CWD),but a slight increase in the maximum consecutive dry days(CDD),which are consistent with changes of annual total precipitation(PRCPTOT).Seasonally,PRCPTOT and RD95p both exhibit an increase in spring and a decrease in other seasons with the largest decrease in summer,but generally not significant.In summary,this study shows a pronounced warming tendency at the less rainy period over Circum-Bohai-Sea region,which may affect regional economic development and ecological protection to some extent.     

DISSOLVED AND PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON IN YANTAI SISHILI BAY AQUICULTURE WATERS

Investigation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) at 12 stations in Yantal Sishili Bay in May, August, and November of 1997 and March and May of 1998 showed that DOC concentrations varied from 1.14 mg/L to 5.35 mg/L; that the average values at all staticrLs ineach entise varied from 1.52 mg/L to 2.12 mg/L; that POC concentrafions varied from 0.049 mg/L to 1.411mg/L; and averaged 0.159 mg/L to 0.631 mg/L in each cruise. Horizontal distribution of DOC was influ-enced by factors such as continental input, organism activity, temperature, aquieulture environment, etc. The higher POC concentration occurred along the coast. The vertical distribution of DOC and POC changed obviously in spring and summer, but not obviously in autumn and winter. DOC concentration was highest in summer and POC in spring; both were lowest in winter. The seasonal change of DOC was con-sistent with primary productivity seasonal variation, and that of POC was consistent with ehlorophyll-a sea-sanal variation. The seasonal change trend of the C/N ratio of dissolved organic matter was obvious, but the C/N ratio of particulate organic matter had no such trend.     

Variation of Thornthwaite moisture index in Hengduan Mountains,China

The Thornthwaite moisture index, an index of the supply of water(precipitation) in an area relative to the climatic demand for water(potential evapotranspiration), was used to examine the spatial and temporal variation of drought and to verify the influence of environmental factors on the drought in the Hengduan Mountains, China. Results indicate that the Thornthwaite moisture index in the Hengduan Mountains had been increasing since 1960 with a rate of 0.1938/yr. Annual Thornthwaite moisture index in Hengduan Mountains was between –97.47 and 67.43 and the spatial heterogeneity was obvious in different seasons. Thornthwaite moisture index was high in the north and low in the south, and the monsoon rainfall had a significant impact on its spatial distribution. The tendency rate of Thornthwaite moisture index variation varied in different seasons, and the increasing trends in spring were greater than that in summer and autumn. However, the Thornthwaite moisture index decreased in winter. Thornthwaite moisture index increased greatly in the north and there was a small growth in the south of Hengduan Mountains. The increase of precipitation and decrease of evaporation lead to the increase of Thornthwaite moisture index. Thornthwaite moisture index has strong correlation with vegetation coverage. It can be seen that the correlation between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) and Thornthwaite moisture index was positive in spring and summer, but negative in autumn and winter. Correlation between Thornthwaite moisture index and relative soil relative moisture content was positive in spring, summer and autumn, but negative in winter. The typical mountainous terrain affect the distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind speed and other meteorological factors in this region, and then affect the spatial distribution of Thornthwaite moisture index. The unique ridge-gorge terrain caused the continuity of water-heat distribution from the north to south, and the water-heat was stronger than that from the east to west part, and thus determined the spatial distribution of Thornthwaite moisture index. The drought in the Hengduan Mountains area is mainly due to the unstable South Asian monsoon rainfall time.     

DISTRIBUTION AND POPULATION DYNAMICS OF PARACALANUS PARVUS,PRACALANUS CRASSIROSTRIS,AND ACARTIA BIFILOSA（COPEPODA,CALANOIDA）IN THE BOHAI SEA

Paracalanus parvus,Paracalanus crassirostris,and Acartia bifilosa are dominant and widely distributed in the Bohai Sea,and comprise an important part of zooplankton in terms of biomass as well as production rate.In order to understand their seasonal distribution and population dynamics,their stage-specific abundance in different months of the year were analyzed based on the never analyzed yet samples collected in 1959.The three species showed clear and remarkable seasonal variation in abundance,which maximized in spring and summer,when they formed high biomass patches or concentrations in the nearshore area.For Paracalanus parvus,two peaks were observed in the annual circle,one in June and the other in September,For Paracalanus crassirostris,one peak occurred in summer and a small one in December.The seasonal pattern of Acartia bifilosa was different in different regions.In Bohai Bay it had a two-peak pattern,with the first large peak occurring in May and the second one in October.In Laizhou Bay,a winter peak in December and January could be observed besides the spring one.The number of generations during the reproductive season for the three species was estimated based on the annual cycle in abundance and ambient temperature.     

Composition of stable isotope in precipitation and its influences by different vapor sources in the eastern Qilian Mountains

To better understand the process of precipitation and water cycle, the composition of stable isotope in precipitation and its influences by different vapor sources in the eastern of Qilian Mountains were conducted from June 2013 to May 2014. The total of 100 precipitation samples were collected in Wushaoling national meteorological station located in the eastern of Qilian Mountains. The analysis indicates that the slope of Local Meteoric Water Line is lower than that of Global Meteoric Water Line. The average values of δ18 O and δD in precipitation are higher in summer but lower in winter. Except for negative correlation with relative humidity, the stable isotope values in precipitation are positive correlations with temperature, precipitation and water vapor pressure. Influenced by water vapor source, the values of d-excess are lower for the Westerly wind and the South Asia Monsoon onJuly and the Westerly wind and the East Asia Monsoon on August, but they are higher for the Westerly wind on other months, that they are also influenced by the weather conditions in rainfall process. The variation of stable isotope in precipitation exhibited significant temperature effect, and there is also some precipitation amount effect in spring and summer.     

Stable Isotopes in Precipitation and Atmospheric Moisture of Pailugou Catchment in Northwestern China′s Qilian Mountains

Hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in precipitation have been widely used as effective traces to investigate hydrological processes such as evaporation and atmospheric moisture source. This study analyzed δD and δ~(18)O of precipitation in continuous event-based samples at three stations of Pailugou Catchment from November 2012 to December 2013. The δ~(18)O and δD values ranged from-32.32‰ to +3.23‰ and from-254.46‰ to +12.11‰, respectively. Results show that the δ~(18)O displayed a distinct seasonal variation, with enriched values occurring in summer and relatively depleted values in winter, respectively. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the δ~(18)O and δD values and local surface air temperature at all the three stations. The nearest Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation(GNIP) station(Zhangye), compared to the Meteoric Water Lines for this study, showed the obvious local evaporation effects with lower intercept and slope. Additionally, d-excess(δD- 8δ~(18)O) parameter in precipitation exhibited an anti-phase seasonal variability with the δ~(18)O. The 96-h back trajectories for each precipitation event using Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory(HYSPLIT) model indicated a dominant effect of westerly air masses in summer and the integrated influence of westerly and polar air masses in winter.     

Seasonal Variations in Phytoplankton Community Structure in the Sanggou,Ailian, and Lidao Bays

The seasonal variations in phytoplankton community structure were investigated for the Sanggou Bay （SGB） and the adjacent Ailian Bay （ALB） and Lidao Bay （LDB） in Shandong Peninsula,eastern China.The species composition and cell abundance of phytoplankton in the bay waters in spring （April 2011）,summer （August 2011）,autumn （October 2011）,and winter （January 2012） were examined using the Uterm6hl method.A total of 80 taxa of phytoplankton that belong to 39 genera of 3 phyla were identified.These included 64 species of 30 genera in the Phylum Bacillariophyta,13 species of 8 genera in the Phylum Dinophyta,and 3 species of 1 genus in the Phylum Chrysophyta.During the four seasons,the number of phytoplankton species （43） was the highest in spring,followed by summer and autumn （40）,and the lowest number ofphytoplankton species （35） was found in winter.Diatoms,especially Paralia sulcata （Ehrenberg） Cleve and Coscinodiscus oculus-iridis Ehrenberg,were predominant in the phytoplankton community throughout the study period,whereas the dominance of dinoflagellate appeared in summer only.The maximum cell abundance of phytoplankton was detected in summer （average 8.08 × 103 cells L-1） whereas their minimum abundance was found in autumn （average 2.60 x 103 cellsL-1）.The phytoplankton abundance was generally higher in the outer bay than in the inner bay in spring and autumn.In summer,the phytoplankton cells were mainly concentrated in the south of inner SGB,with peak abundance observed along the western coast.In winter,the distribution of phytoplankton cells showed 3 patches,with peak abundance along the western coast as well.On seasonal average,the Shannon-Wiener diversity indices of phytoplankton community ranged from 1.17 to 1.78 （autumn 〉 summer 〉 spring 〉 winter）,and the Pielou＇s evenness indices of phytoplankton ranged from 0.45 to 0.65 （autumn 〉 spring 〉 summer〉 winter）.According to the results of canonical correspondence analysis,phosphate level w     

Spatio-temporal variations in the siphonophore community of the northern South China Sea

To understand how hydrological and biological factors affect near-to off-shore variations in the siphonophore community,we sampled zooplankton at 82 stations in the northern South China Sea during summer,winter,and spring.Forty-one species of siphonophore were collected by vertical trawling.The species richness of siphonophores increased from the nearshore to offshore regions in all three seasons of investigation,with maximum richness in summer and minimum richness in winter.The abundance of siphonophores was also higher in summer than in spring and winter,concentrated in the nearshore region in the warm season and scattered in the offshore region in the cold season.Four siphonophore groups were classified according to the frequency of occurrence:nearshore,near-offshore,offshore,and tropical pelagic.Among them,the nearshore group had higher abundance nearshore compared with the offshore.The tropical pelagic group had higher species number offshore than nearshore.Spatial and temporal fluctuations in taxonomic composition and abundance of siphonophores were due to the influence of the coastal upwelling and surface ocean currents of the South China Sea,driven by the East Asia monsoonal system.