Tracing the settlement region of massive floating green algae in the Yellow Sea

Outbreaks of large-scale green tides formed by Ulva prolifera in the Yellow Sea(YS)cause heavy ecological damages and huge economic losses.However,the ecological consequences of green tides remain poorly understood due to the lack of knowledge on the settlement region of massive green algae floating in the YS.In this study,we established a method to trace the settlement region of floating green algae,using 28-isofucosterol preserved in sediment as the specific biomarker for green algae.Sterols including 28-isofucosterol in surface sediment samples collected during an investigation in the YS and the Bohai Sea(BS)in August 2015 were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer(GC-MS).Based on the content of 28-isofucosterol in sediment samples,the potential settlement region of loating green algae was identified in the sea area southeast to the Shandong Peninsula around the sampling site H06(122.66°E,36.00°N).This paper presents a first result on the settlement region of floating green algae in the YS for providing a solid basis to elucidate the ecological consequences of green tides in the area.     

Pigment characterization for the 2011 bloom in Qinhuangdao implicated "brown tide" events in China

A large-scale bloom occurred from May to June in 2011 in sea area near Qinhuangdao of the Bohai Sea, leading to huge damage of the scallop culture industry. Similar blooms have been observed in this region for three years. The causative species of the bloom, which dominated the phytoplankton community with the maximum cell density around 109 cell/L, could not be identified with morphological features due to the small cell size (~2 mm). A pigment analytical method was then adopted to analyze the pigment profile of the phytoplankton samples collected from the blooming sea area. It was found that pico-sized (<2 mm), nano-sized (2-20 mm), and bulk phytoplankton samples had similar pigment profile, representing the pigment signature of the bloom-causative species. The major pigments detected included 19-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin (But-fuco), fucoxanthin (Fuco), diadinoxanthin (Diad) and chlorophyll a (Chl a), and high content of But-fuco was the most significant characteristics of the phytoplankton samples. Based on the pigment composition and content, the bloom-causative species could be tentatively identified as pelagophyte, "type 8" group of haptophyte, or silicoflagellate. Some unique features of the bloom, such as the extremely high cell density, small-sized and But-fuco containing cells, occurring in early summer, and the feeding-cessation effects on scallops, suggest it be a "brown tide" event similar to those reported in the east coast of the United States of America. The recurrent "brown tide" events and their dramatic impacts on the shellfish mariculture industry in Qinhuangdao need close attention in the coming years.     

Dynamics of Phaeocystis globosa bloom and implications for its seed sources in the Beibu Gulf,China

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Algal blooms of haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa have been recorded in the Beibu Gulf, South China Sea (SCS) since 2011. Recent evidence suggests that Type I and...     

The green tide in Yingkou,China in summer 2021 was caused by a subtropical alga—Ulva meridionalis (Ulvophyceae,Chlorophyta)

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - The large-scale green tide caused by Ulva has occurred successively in the Yellow Sea since 2007, and new events of green tide also continued to appear in...     

Distribution patterns of phytoplankton in the Changjiang River estuary and adjacent waters in spring 2009

The Changjiang River estuary and adjacent waters are one of the most notable regions for red tides/harmful algal blooms in China's coastal waters.In this study,phytoplankton samples were collected and analyzed during the outbreak stage of red tides in May 2009.It was found that dinoflagellates,Prorocentrum donghaiense and Karenia mikimotoi,and diatoms,Skeletonema spp.and Paralia sulcata,were the major taxa dominating the phytoplankton community.Cluster analysis,non-metric multidimensional scaling(NMDS) and analysis of similarities(ANOSIM) was conducted on a data matrix including taxa composition and cell abundance of the phytoplankton samples.The analyses categorized the samples into three groups at a similarity level of 30%.Group Ⅰ was characterized by estuarine diatoms and distributed mainly in the highly turbid estuarine region.Group Ⅱ,which was dominated by the diatom Skeletonema spp.and represented the red tide of Skeletonema spp.,was situated around Group Ⅰ in the sea area west of 122°50'E.Group Ⅲ was characterized by a high proportion of dinoflagellates and was found further offshore compared with Groups Ⅰ and Ⅱ.Group Ⅲ was further divided into two subgroups(Ⅲ-S1 and Ⅲ-S2) at a similarity level of 40%.Group Ⅲ-S1 was characterized by the presence of the benthic diatom P.sulcata,representing phytoplankton samples collected either from the bottom or from the sea area affected by upwelling.GroupⅢ-S2 was dominated by dinoflagellates and represented red tides formed by P.donghaiense and K.mikimotoi.A gradual change of red-tide causative species was observed from the estuary to the offshore sea area,from diatoms to armored dinoflagellates and then unarmored dinoflagellates.Environmental factors associated with each group,and thus affecting the distribution of phytoplankton and red tides,are discussed.     

基于FlowCam影像和YOLOv3深度学习模型的多纹膝沟藻检测

海洋中的有害藻华,包括微藻形成的赤潮和褐潮以及大型藻类形成的绿潮和金潮,已成为一类突出的海洋生态灾害问题。2021年11—12月,山东半岛东北部海域发生多纹膝沟藻(Gonyaulax polygramma)形成的大规模赤潮,导致海带养殖严重受损,亟待构建有针对性的赤潮监测预警体系。本文以多纹膝沟藻为对象,尝试应用流式影像仪(FlowCam)结合卷积神经网络模型YOLOv3,分别对含有多纹膝沟藻的浓缩海水样品、含有多纹膝沟藻和链状亚历山大藻(Alexandrium catenella)的浓缩海水样品,以及含有多纹膝沟藻活细胞及空壳的浓缩海水样品进行了检测实验,探究了基于藻种影像的深度学习模型在赤潮原因种检测方面的应用潜力。结果表明,在以FlowCam获取的影像数据集训练3万次后,YOLOv3对多纹膝沟藻表现出较好的识别能力,对浓缩海水样品中目标藻种识别的平均精度为88.2%;当样品中存在与多纹膝沟藻形态相似的链状亚历山大藻时,模型对多纹膝沟藻识别的平均精度下降为76.6%,对两种微藻同时进行训练和检测,可将对多纹膝沟藻识别的平均精度提高至84.6%。对于低温下出现脱壳现象的多纹膝沟藻,模型对海水中活细胞识别的平均精度为86.7%,对空壳识别的平均精度87.8%,将多纹膝沟藻活细胞与空壳分别识别的平均精度均值(87.3%)高于将两者统一作为多纹膝沟藻进行检测的识别精度(84.2%),整体识别精度提升3.1%。综合相关结果可以看出,FlowCam与深度学习模型相结合在赤潮监测和研究中具有重要应用潜力。     

Tempo-spatial distribution of Ulva spp. micro-propagules in the Yellow Sea during and after green tide in 2019

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Large-scale green tides occur frequently in summer in the Yellow Sea in recent decade. Micro-propagules, providing “seeds” for the seaweeds, play...     

Newly recorded bloom-forming dinoflagellate Gymnodinium impudicum in Haizhou Bay,Yellow Sea,China

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - With the development of industrialization and aquaculture in Jiangsu and Shandong Provinces along the South Yellow Sea coast, China, eutrophication has greatly...     

Records of bulk organic matter and plant pigments in sediment of the “red-tide zone” adjacent to the Changjiang River estuary

Cultural eutrophication caused by nutrient over-enrichment in coastal waters will lead to a cascading set of ecosystem changes and deleterious ecological consequences,such as harmful algal blooms(HABs) and hypoxia.During the past two decades since the late 1990s,recurrent large-scale HABs(red tides)and an extensive hypoxic zone have been reported in the coastal waters adjacent to the Changjiang River estuary.To retrieve the history of eutrophication and its associated ecosystem changes,a sediment core was collected from the "red-tide zone" adjacent to the Changjiang River estuary.The core was dated using the~(210)Pb radioisotope and examined for multiple proxies,including organic carbon(OC),total nitrogen(TN),stable isotopes of C and N,and plant pigments.An apparent up-core increase of OC content was observed after the 1970s,accompanied by a rapid increase of TN.The concurrent enrichment of δ~(13)C and increase of the C/N ratio suggested the accumulation of organic matter derived from marine primary production during this stage.The accumulation of OC after the 1970 s well reflected the significant increase of primary production in the red-tide zone and probably the intensification of hypoxia as well.Plant pigments,including chlorophyll a,p-carotene,and diatoxanthin,showed similar patterns of variation to OC throughout the core,which further confirmed the important contribution of microalgae,particularly diatoms,to the deposited organic matter.Based on the variant profiles of the pigments representative of different microalgal groups,the potential changes of the phytoplankton community since the 1970s were discussed.     

Screening for lipophilic marine toxins and their potential producers in coastal waters of Weihai in autumn, 2020

Lipophilic marine toxins (LMTs) produced by some microalgae in the sea could accumulate in shellfish and pose potential threats to the health of seafood consumers. Phytoplankton and shellfish samples were collected from coastal waters of Weihai in Shandong Peninsula, China in autumn, 2020, and screened for lipophilic marine toxins and their potential producers using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis and high throughput sequencing of partial DNA (V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene) extracted from phytoplankton. Pectenotoxin-2 (PTX2), trace amounts of azaspiracid (AZA1 or AZA40), and 13-desmethyl spirolide C (13-DesMe-C) were detected in phytoplankton samples, while PTX2 and gymnodimine (GYM) were detected in shellfish samples. The toxin content in shellfish samples was much lower than the regulatory limit or values reported previously. Results suggest that lipophilic marine toxins should have low risk in coastal waters of Weihai in autumn. Based on the data of high throughput sequencing, the OTUs were assigned to 5 identified species of Alexandrium, including A. ostenfeldii capable of producing 13-DesMe-C and GYM. Two OTUs were found closely related to the toxic species in genus Dinophysis, but it is impossible to assign them to any identified species due to the low resolving power of the V4 region for Dinophysis. The OTUs could not be assigned to any identified species in the genus Azadinium, suggesting the existence of unidentified species in this region.