Meso-scale spatial distribution of large tintinnids in early summer in southern Yellow Sea

The spatial distribution of some large tintinnid species （nominally〉76 μm） was investigated according to samples collected by vertical towing in cruises to the southern Yellow Sea in summer 2000-2002 and 2004. Eight species were identified： Codonellopsis mobilis, Leprotintinnus netritus, Tintinnopsis karajacensis, T. japonica, T. kiaochowensis, T. butschlii, T. radix, and Parafavella sp. With maximum abundance of 158.2 ind/L in June 2004, C. mobilis was the dominant species, lasting from May to July 2004. Tintinnid communities were patchy and distributed mainly in shallow waters along the shore.     

Distribution of Different Biogeographical Tintinnids in Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea

There were different biogeographical tintinnids in the oceans. Knowledge of their distribution pattern and mixing was important to the understanding of ecosystem functions. Yellow Sea (YS) and Bohai Sea (BS) were semi-enclosed seas influenced by warm water intrusion and YS cold bottom water. The occurrence of tintinnids in YS and BS during two cruises (summer and winter) were investigated to find out: i) whether warm-water tintinnids appeared in YS and BS; ii) whether boreal tintinnids appeared in high summer; iii) the core area of neritic tintinnids and iv) how these different biogeographical tintinnids mixed. Our results showed that tintinnid community was dominated by neritic tintinnid. We confirmed the occurrence of warm-water tintinnids in summer and winter. In summer, they intruded into BS and mainly distributed in the upper 20 m where Yellow Sea Surface Warm Water (YSSWW) developed. In winter, they were limited in the surface water of central deep region (bottom depth >50 m) of YS where were affected by Yellow Sea Warm Water (YSWW). Boreal tintinnids occurred in YS in high summer (August) and in winter, while they were not observed in BS. In summer, the highest abundance of boreal tintinnids occurred in Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water, indicating the presence of an oversummering stock. In winter, they were concentrated in the north of YSWW. Vertically, neritic tintinnids abundance was high in the bottom layers. Horizontally, high neritic tintinnids abundance in bottom layers occurred along the 50 m isobath coinciding with the position of front systems. Front systems were the core distribution area of neritic tintinnids. High abundance areas of warm-water and boreal tintinnids were clearly separated vertically in summer, and horizontally in winter. High abundance of neritic tintinnids rarely overlapped with that of warm-water or boreal tintinnids.     

Changes in Tintinnid Assemblages from Subantarctic Zone to Antarctic Zone Along Transect in Amundsen Sea (West Antarctica) in Early Austral Autumn

Tintinnid ciliates are important pelagic microplankton.Most studies previously conducted in the Amundsen Sea have covered a relatively small latitude range and provided minimal information about tintinnid species composition and distribution.The present study was conducted to investigate tintinnid assemblages from the Antarctic zone(AZ)northward through the polar front(PF)to the subantarctic zone(SAZ).A total of 17 tintinnid species belonging to seven genera were collected,and 16 were identified.Results show that nine of the species are endemic to the Southern Ocean and they mainly inhabit the AZ near Antarctic continent with an abundant proportion exceeding 60%of total tintinnid.According to the tintinnid abundance distribution,the species were divided into four groups:Group I includes Acanthostomella norvegica,Codonellopsis glacialis,C.pusilla and Cymatocylis antarctica and mainly occurs in the northern boundary of the PF;Group II includes Cymatocylis convallaria forma calyciformis,an unidentified species,and Amphorellopsis quinquealata and mainly inhabits the PF;Group III includes Salpingella costata,Cymatocylis vanhoeffeni,C.convallaria forma cristallina,C.convallaria forma drygalskii,C.convallaria,Codonellopsis gaussi,and Laackmanniella naviculaefera and mainly occurs in the AZ near the Antarctic continent;and Group IV,which comprises Salpingella sp.and inhabits all zones.The new species of tintinnid(belonging to Group II)primarily inhabit the AZ but also are distributed in the PF,and they have large lorica-oral-diameter(LOD).The distribution ranges of tintinnid assemblages from the AZ to PF were determined,in addition to the different assemblages mixed in the PF.The information provided in this study increases our understanding of tintinnid assemblages from the Antarctic continent in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Antarctic waters.     

Heavy metals in sediments of Yellow Sea and East China Sea: Chemical speciation,distribution, infl uence factor,and contamination

Metal species and the degree of environmental pollution are related to the hydrogen sulfi de(H 2 S), an important product of early diagenesis that can react with metals to form stable compounds. To investigate the eff ects of H 2 S to metals and evaluate metal environment eff ect in the sediments of the East China Sea(ECS) and Yellow Sea(YS), geochemical characteristic and spatial distribution of nine heavy metals and H 2 S profi le were studied. Higher H 2 S content and lower metal content was observed in the sediments 10 cm in depth in the North Yellow Sea and the west coast of South Korea. The pollution load index( I pl) indicates that the southern coast of Shandong Peninsula underwent moderate pollution( I pl =1) of heavy metals and no heavy metal pollution appeared in other areas( I pl 1). To some extents, the ecological risk of Cd and As enrichment was moderately severe in all stations. The chance of heavy metal combination to be toxic in ECS and YS during summer was 21%. In addition, correlation between H 2 S content and metals in both solid and porewater phases was obvious, corroborating important eff ect of H 2 S on metal distribution. Moreover, H 2 S could aff ect the spatial distributions of heavy metals in porewater directly and be indicative of potential biological eff ects of combined toxicant groups in the study region.     

Stock discrimination of spottedtail goby (Synechogobius ommaturus) in the Yellow Sea by analysis of otolith shape

Otolith shape is species specific and is an ideal marker of fish population affiliation. In this study, otolith shape of spottedtail goby Synechogobius ommaturus is used to identify stocks in different spawning locations in the Yellow Sea. The main objectives of this study are to explore the potential existence of local stocks of spottedtail goby in the Yellow Sea by analysis of otolith shape, and to investigate ambient impacts on otolith shape. Spottedtail goby was sampled in five locations in the Yellow Sea in 2007 and 2008. Otoliths are described using variables correlated to size (otolith area, perimeter, length, width, and weight) and shape (rectangularity, circularity, and 20 Fourier harmonics). Only standardized otolith variables are used so that the effect of otolith size on the shape variables could be eliminated. There is no significant difference among variables of sex, year, and side (left and right). However, the otolith shapes of the spring stocks and the autumn stocks differ significantly. Otolith shape differences are greater among locations than between years. Correct classification rate of spottedtail goby with the otolith shape at different sampling locations range from 29.7%–77.4%.     

Population genetic structure of the mantis shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria(Crustacea: Squillidae) in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

The mantis shrimp O ratosquilla oratoria is an ecologically and economically important species in the Western Pacific. In present study, the population genetic structure of O ratosquilla oratoria from the Yellow Sea and East China Sea was examined with mitochondrial DNA control region sequences. In total, 394 samples were collected from 18 locations and 102 haplotypes were obtained. For the Yellow Sea, the overall nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity were 0.006 9 and 0.946 8, respectively; while across all the East China Sea locations, the overall nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity were 0.027 94 and 0.979 0, respectively. The results of AMOVA and pairwise F_(ST)(0.145 2, P 0.001) revealed moderate differentiation between the Yellow Sea and East China Sea populations of O. oratoria. However, neither the neighbor-joining tree nor haplotype network showed clades with geographic pattern, which indicated considerable gene flow was existed between the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, and supporting the high larval dispersal ability in this species. Mismatch distribution analysis and neutrality tests suggested that O. oratoria has undergone population expansion event, and the Pleistocene glacial cycles might have an impact on the historical demography of O. oratoria. The genetic information obtained in this study can provide useful information for sustainable improvements for capture fisheries management strategies.     

SHORT TIME DYNAMICS OF CILIATE ABUNDANCE IN THE BOHAI SEA （CHINA）

The ciliate community in the Bohai Sea (China) was studied from 23 September to 7 October 1998. A hurricane struck the study area between the two grid station investigations, which were six days apart. Six tintinnid species ( Favella panamensis, Leptotintinnus nordqvisti, Tintinnopsis but-schlii, T. karajacensis , T. Radix and Wangiella dicollaria ) were identified. Total cililate abundance in the surface layer ranged from 20 to 770 ind/l. In the first grid investigation, Tintinnopsis karajacensis dominated in the warm, low salinity waters at the Huanghe River mouth. Aloricate ciliate sp. 1 dominated in the cold, high salinity waters in the northwest of the study area and the Bohai Strait. In the second grid investigation, T. Karajacensis almost disappeared. The abundance of aloricate ciliate sp. 1 decreased drastically. The aloricate ciliate sp. 2 dominated at the Bohai Strait. The change of ciliate abundance may be due to the disturbance of hurricane.     

Community structure changes of macrobenthos in the South Yellow Sea

The ecological environment in the Yellow Sea has changed greatly from the 1950s to 1990s and this has had significant impact on marine organisms. In this study, data on soft-sediment macrobenthos occurring in depths from 25 m to 81 m in the South Yellow Sea were used to compare changes in community structure. The agglomerative classification (CLUSTER) and multidimensional scaling (MDS) methods were applied. Five communities were recognized by cluster analysis: 1. The Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass community dominated by cold water species, which changed slightly in species composition since the 1950s; 2. The mixed community with the coexistence of cold water species and warm water species, as had been reported previously; 3. The polychaete-dominated eurythermal community in which the composition changed considerably as some dominant species disappeared or decreased; 4. The Changjiang (Yangtze) River Estuarine community, with some typical estuarine species; 5. The community affected by the Yellow Sea Warm Current. The greatest change occurred in the coastal area, which indicated that the change may be caused by human activities. Macrobenthos in the central region remained almost unchanged, particularly the cold water species shielded by the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass. The depth, temperature and median grain size of sediments were important factors affecting the distributions of macrobenthos in the South Yellow Sea.     

Physicochemical conditions in affecting the distribution of spring phytoplankton community

To better understand the physicochemical conditions in af fecting regional distribution of phytoplankton community, one research cruise was carried out in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea during 3 rd and 23 th May, 2010. The phytoplankton community, including Bacillariophyta(105 taxa), Pyrrophyta(54 taxa), Chrysophyta(1 taxon) and Chlorophyta(2 taxa), had been identified and clearly described from six ecological provinces. And, the six ecological provinces were partitioned based on the top twenty dominant species related with notable physicochemical parameters. In general, the regional distributions of phytoplankton ecological provinces were predominantly influenced by the physicochemical properties induced by the variable water masses and circulations. The predominant diatoms in most of water samples showed well adaptability in turbulent and eutrophic conditions. However, several species of dinoflagellates e.g., Protoperidinium conicum, Protoperidinium triestinum, Protoperidinium sp. and Gymnodinium lohmanni preferred warmer, saltier and nutrient-poor environment. Moreover, the dinoflagellates with high frequency in the Yellow Sea might be transported from the Yellow Sea Warm Current. The horizontal distribution of phytoplankton was depicted by diatoms and controlled by phosphate concentration, while the vertical distribution was mainly supported by light and nutrients availability in the subsurface and bottom layers, respectively.     

Fouling acorn barnacles in China—a review

We review the species composition,distribution, and seasonal variation of fouling acorn barnacles in Chinese waters-from Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea to East and South China Seas. Thirty-two species of acorn barnacles were found, of which, the dominant species are Amphibalanus amphitrite, A. reticulatus, A. variegates, Balanus trigonus, Fistulobalanus kondakovi, Megabalanus tintinnabulum, Striatobalanus amaryllis, and Eurapha withersi in the fouling communities. A. amphitrite is the dominant species in the coastal waters of Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea and A. reticulatus is dominant in the East and South China Seas. The settlement period of fouling acorn barnacles is usually in summer and autumn. From north to south with the decrease of latitude, their settlement period obviously extends, even to the whole year, and the species number also increases.0ther environmental factors, such as salinity and distance from shore, also play an important role in the distribution of fouling acorn barnacles.     

Foraminiferal Changes and Response to the Channel Diversion and Discharge Fluctuation of the Yellow River in the North Yellow Sea During the Past Century

Diversion of the Yellow River is a unique geological event in offshore China, causing changes of the sedimentary environment in eastern China Seas. The last diversion took place in AD 1855, with the estuary diverted from the Yellow Sea into the Bohai Sea. The identification of the river diversion events in the shelf sediments would not only provide the definite ages for the sediments, but also give a clue for better understanding of the sedimentation in that area. In this study, 210 Pb, grain size, geochemical element, and foraminiferal data in core H205 from the north Yellow Sea were systematically investigated. A high-resolution sedimentary record was established, which was coupled with the Yellow River diversion and runoff changes. The results show that the foraminiferal composition and foraminiferal abundance of the sediments from the north Yellow Sea had good response to the Yellow River diversion in 1855. Before the change, shallow water assemblages dominated the foraminifera, and the abundance of each foraminiferal species was very low. After the diversion event, the abundance of most foraminifera increased sharply, with a maximum increase of 16 times, and the assemblage was still dominated by shallow water species. Furthermore, the changes in foraminiferal abundance in the core sediments corresponded well with the discharge fluctuation of the Yellow River since 1855. When the Yellow River began entering the Bohai Sea, the Yellow River water, which is rich in nutrients, along with the coastal currents affected the north Yellow Sea, increased the primary productivity in the north Yellow Sea, which is the main reason for the abrupt increase and fluctuation of foraminiferal abundance in this area. At the meantime, the East Asian winter monsoon could also promote the development of nearshore foraminiferal species by enhancing the coastal currents.     

Complementary DNA sequencing (cDNA): an effective approach for assessing the diversity and distribution of marine benthic ciliates along hydrographic gradients

The Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass(YSCWM) is a distinct hydrographic phenomenon of the Yellow Sea,and the distribution pattern of meio-and macrobentho s diffe rs inside and outside of the YSCWM.However,such a pattern has never been observed in the microbenthic ciliate communities.Therefore,we hypothesized that benthic ciliates followed a similar distribution pattern as meio-and macrobentho s,but this pattern has not been uncovered by morphological methods.We evaluated the diversity and distribution of benthic ciliates at five stations along hydrographic gradients across the YSCWM and adj acent shallow water by using morphology and DNA and complementary DNA(cDNA) high-throughput sequencing of the V4 region of 18 S rRNA gene.Results showed that the diversity of benthic ciliate s detected by DNA(303 OTU s),and the cDNA(611 OTUs) sequencing was much higher than that detected by the morphological method(79 species).Morphological method detected roughly different ciliate communities inside and outside of the YSCWM,but without statistical significance.No clear pattern was obtained by DNA sequencing.In contrast,cDNA sequencing revealed a distinct distribution pattern of benthic ciliate communities like meioand macrobenthos,which coincided well with the results of the environmental parameter analysis.More than half of the total sequences detected by DNA sequencing belonged to planktonic ciliates,most(if not all) of which were recovered from historic DNA originating through the sedimentation of pelagic forms because none of them were observed morphologically.The irrelevant historic DNA greatly influenced the recovery of rare species and thus limited the understanding of the benthic ciliate diversity and distribution.Our research indicates that the methods used have significant effects on the investigation of benthic ciliate communities and highlights that cDNA sequencing has great advantages in estimating the diversity and distribution of benthic ciliates,as well as the potential for benthic environmental assessments.     

Distribution and abundance of pelagic tunicates in the North Yellow Sea

In this paper, the distribution patterns and abundance of pelagic tunicates in the North Yellow Sea of China during the period 2006-2007 were analyzed. Zooplankton samples were obtained with vertical towing from bottom to surface using a WP2 plankton net(200 μm mesh size; mouth area: 0.25 m2). Five species belonging to two classes were identified: Oikopleura dioica, O. longicauda and Fritillaria borealis belonging to class Appendicularia; Salpa fusiformis and Doliolum denticulatum of class Thaliacea. O. dioica and O. longicauda were the dominant species, occurring in the samples of all four seasons, with different distribution patterns. Their maximum abundance were 1664.7 ind. m-3(spring) and 1031.7 ind. m-3(spring) respectively. Following Oikopleura spp. were D. denticulatum, which was found only in autumn with an average abundance of 149.6 ind. m-3, and S. fusiformis, which was detected all the year long except for autumn with low abundance(max. abundance 289.4 ind. m-3 in summer). Only a very small amount of F. borealis was detected in summer samples, with an average abundance of 2.7 ind. m-3. The relationship between tunicates abundances and the environmental factors was analyzed using the stepwise regression model for each species. The variation of appendicularian abundance showed a significant correlation with the surface water temperature and with the concentration of Chl-a. No relationship was found between tunicates abundance and salinity, likely due to the slight changes in surface salinity of the studied area during the four seasons. Salps abundance and that of doliolids were significantly correlated to bottom water temperature, indicating that these two species(S. fusiformis and D. denticulatum) migrate vertically in the water column. In particular D. denticulatum, known to be a warm water species, showed not only an important correlation with water temperature, but also a spatial distribution connected to the warm currents in the North Yellow Sea. The occurrence of D. denticulatum represents an interesting result never found in past research work. Water temperature, algal distribution and currents were the most relevant environmental factors influencing the tunicate abundance and distribution in the North Yellow Sea. Further research is needed in order to get more information on the ecology of these organisms and to better understand their role in the ecosystem including the oceanic food web.     

Ulva and Enteromorpha (Ulvaceae, Chlorophyta) from two sides of the Yellow Sea: analysis of nuclear rDNA ITS and plastid rbcL sequence data

Ulvacean green seaweeds are common worldwide; they formed massive green tides in the Yellow Sea in recent years, which caused marine ecological problems as well as a social issue. We investigated two major genera of the Ulvaceae, Ulva and Enteromorpha, and collected the plastid rbcL and nuclear ITS sequences of specimens of the genera in two sides of the Yellow Sea and analyzed them. Phylogenetic trees of rbcL data show the occurrence of five species of Enteromorpha (E. compressa, E. flexuosa, E. intestinalis, E. linza and E. prolifera) and three species of Ulva (U. pertusa, U. rigida and U. ohnoi). However, we found U. ohnoi, which is known as a subtropical to tropical species, at two sites on Jeju Island, Korea. Four ribotypes in partial sequences of 5.8S rDNA and ITS2 from E. compressa were also found. Ribotype network analysis revealed that the common ribotype, occurring in China, Korea and Europe, is connected with ribotypes from Europe and China/Japan. Although samples of the same species were collected from both sides of the Yellow Sea, intraspecific genetic polymorphism of each species was low among samples collected worldwide.     

Mitochondrial DNA control region diversity and population structure of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan

To investigate the genetic variation and population structure of Pacific herring in the Yellow Sea and the genetic differentiation between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan,fragments of 479-bp mitochondrial DNA control region were sequenced for 110 individuals collected from three different periods in the Yellow Sea and one locality in the Sea of Japan.High haplotype diversity and moderate nucleotide diversity were observed in Pacific herring.AMOVA and exact test of population differentiation showed no significant genetic differentiations among the three populations of the Yellow Sea and suggested the populations can be treated as a single panmictic stock in the Yellow Sea.However,a large and significant genetic differentiation(WST50.11;P50.00) was detected between the populations in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan.The high sea water temperature in the Tsushima Strait was thought a barrier to block the gene exchange between populations of the two sea areas.The neutrality tests and mismatch distribution indicated recent population expansion in Pacific herring.     

Seasonal distribution of macrobenthos and its relationship with environmental factors in Yellow Sea and East China Sea

Macrobenthos samples were collected from the Yellow and East China Seas in four seasons during 2011 to 2012. The seasonal distribution of macrobenthos and its relationship with environmental factors were analyzed. A total of 562 macrobenthic species were identified, with polychaetes and mollusks accounting for 67% of the total number of species. A similarity percentage(SIMPER) analysis showed that the dominant species were bivalve mollusks in the Yellow Sea and small-sized polychaetes in the East China Sea. A two-factor analysis of variance showed significant seasonal variations in species number, density and diversity index, and significant regional differences of biomass and density. Two-factor community similarity analysis also showed significant seasonal and regional differences in macrobenthic communities. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the main environmental factors af fecting the macrobenthic communities were water depth, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and inorganic nitrogen. The results demonstrate significant regional differences and seasonal variations in macrobenthos in the two seas. Sediment properties and water mass characteristics are speculated to be the causes of regional differences.     

First record of Pantropical spotted dolphins Stenella attenuata in the Yellow Sea,China

On October 1, 2009, sixteen dolphins were obtained from fishermen by incidental catching in the Yellow Sea, China. As the dolphins' skin color was ambiguous, morphological parameters were measured, and mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b(Cyt b) gene sequence was studied to identify the species. Morphological characteristics were consistent with Pantropical spotted dolphins, S tenella attenuata. Furthermore, a partial mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b(Cyt b) gene sequence as long as 328-bp was studied by extracting genomic DNA from the skins, and six haplotypes were detected in the sixteen dolphins. By comparing homologous sequences available in Gen Bank(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), all the six haplotypes had maximal genetic similarity with Pantropical spotted dolphin. Eight species of cetacean(whales and dolphins) are now recognised in the Yellow Sea. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of Pantropical spotted dolphins from this region. Despite this species being listed as a Grade II National Key Protected Animal since 1988, little is known of its biology in Chinese waters. We recommend remedial research be undertaken to ensure appropriate management.