Changes in nitrogen and phosphorus and their effects on phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea

Systematic studies of the changes in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) and their effects on phytoplankton over the last 30 years in the Bohai Sea are presented. The amount of sewage disposal, use of fertilizer and the Huanghe River runoff were found to have a significant influence on the DIN or DIP concentrations in the Bohai Sea over the last 30 years. Moreover, the changes in DIN and DIP resulted in changes in the limiting nutrients of phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea from nitrogen in the early 1980s to nitrogen-phosphorus in the late 1980s, and then to phosphorus after the 1990s. In addition, changes in nitrogen and phosphorus had a significant effect on the phytoplankton community structure. The half saturation constant (K _s) was used to evaluate the effect of nutrients on the phytoplankton community structure in the Bohai Sea over the last 30 years. Cell abundance percentages of dominant phytoplankton species with high K _s values for phosphorus and low K _s values for nitrogen have decreased since the 1980s, while those of dominant phytoplankton species with low K _s values for phosphorus and high K _s values for nitrogen increased during this period.     

Two new species of the genusDorylaimopsis Ditlevsen, 1918 (Nematoda: Adenophora,Comesomatidae) from the Bohai Sea,China

Two nematode species of the genusDorylaimopsis (Family Comesometidae) from the Bohai Sea are described.Dorylaimopsis rabalaisi n. sp. similar toD. punctata Ditlevsen, 1918 from which it can be separated by the small size, short and simple spicules without ventral apophyses or joint line.Dorylaimopsis turneri n. sp. differs from the closest speciesDorylaimopsis angelae (Inglis, 1967) by its higher values of de Man ratio ‘a’, much shorter spicules and higher ratio of gubernacular to spicules length. A key to species of the genus based on the key by Jensen (1979) is given. This project was supported by the National Science Foundation, No: 3860804     

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.     

2Thyone pohaiensis,a new sea cucumber from the Bohai Sea,China

In the present paper, a new species ofThyone (Echinodermata, Holothurioidea) collected from the Bohai Sea, China, is described. Contribution N.1290 from the Institute of Oceanology, Academia-Sinica.     

Taxonomic distinctness of macrofauna as an ecological indicator in Laizhou Bay and adjacent waters

In this paper, we assessed the ecological and biodiversity status in the Bohai Sea through a quantitative survey on mac-rofaunal community at 25 stations in Laizhou Bay and adjacent waters in the autumn of 2006.We tested the robustness and effectiveness of taxonomic distinctness as an ecological indictor by analyzing its correlation with species richness and natural environmental variables and by analyzing other ecological indicators (Shannon-Wiener H' and W statistics from Abundance Biomass Comparison curve).Results so obtained indicated that the benthic environment of the study waters in general is not under major impact of anthropogenic disturbance, but some stations in Laizhou Bay and along the coast of the Shandong Peninsula and even in the central Bohai Sea might be moderately disturbed and showed signs of ecological degradation.The taxonomic distinctness measures △+ and Λ+ were independent of sampling effort and natural environment factors and were compliant to other ecological indicators.Further application of the taxonomic distinctness indicator to assess marine biodiversity and ecosystem health on a larger regional scale with historical data seems promising.     

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.     

Diversity and community structure of eukaryotic microalgae in surface sediments in the central Bohai Sea,China, based on a metabarcoding approach

Sediment samples were collected at 17 stations in the central Bohai Sea, China, and the diversity and community structure of eukaryotic microalgae were assessed by metabarcoding the V4 region of 18S rDNA. A total of 930 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected for microeukaryotes, including 98 algal OTUs. The algal communities comprised 42 genera belonging to 19 classes of six phyla, and they were dominated by chrysophytes and dinoflagellates. Dinoflagellates were also the most diverse microalgal group. The nano-sized dinoflagellates Biecheleria halophila and Azadinium trinitatum occurred abundantly in the study area; however, they have not been reported previously, as they may be overlooked or misidentified in light microscopy. Many pico-sized chlorophytes were detected in the sediment samples. Sixteen of the detected OTUs were assigned to potentially harmful and/or bloom-forming microalgae, suggesting some potential risks of harmful algal blooms in the central Bohai Sea. The capacity of metabarcoding to detect morphologically cryptic and small species makes this method a sufficiently sensitive means of detection for assessing eukaryotic microalgae in sediments.

     

First report of the genus Lysippe Malmgren, 1866 (Polychaeta: Ampharetidae) from Chinese waters

The ampharetid genus Lysippe Malmgren, 1866 is reported for the first time from Chinese waters. The identification was based on material deposited in the Marine Biological Museum of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Qingdao). A new species, Lysippe trichobranchia sp. nov. is described. The new species is widely distributed in shallow waters of the Bohai Gulf, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea at depths of 10-40 m.     

Food habits and seasonal variation of stomach contents of tongue soleCynoglossus semilaevis (Günther) in the Bohai Sea

Examination of the food habits and seasonal variation of the stomach contents of adult tongue sole,Cynoglossus semilaevis (Günther) taken in July 1982–July 1983 from Laizhou Bay and the Huanghe River estuary of the Bohai Sea showed crustacea, bivalvia and small fishes comprised the main prey. Invertebrates such as polychaeta, cephalopoda, gastropoda, echinodermata and actiniaria were also intermittently found in them. They intensively fed all the year found (monthly feeding rate of over 80%). The main food items wereAlpheus japonica, Alpheus distinguendus. Oratosquilla oratoria, Eucrate crenata andCarcinoplax vestitus, etc. In summer and autumn, the portion of bivalvia such asCultellus attenuatus andMusculus senhousei increased steadily. From summer to winter, a stable proportion of small fishes such asRhinogobius pflaumi andSetipinna taty was in the diet. Contribution No. 1637 from the Institute of Oceanology, Academia Sinica.     

Distributions of inorganic nutrients in the bohai sea of china

1　Introduction　TheBohaiSeaislocatedinthenorthernChinawithlongitudesofbetween 117°38′Eand 12 2°31′Eandlat itudesofbetween 37°0 8′Nand 4 1°0 2′N .Itisashal lowseawithanaveragewaterdepthof 18m (LiuandZhang ,2 0 0 0 ) .Severalbigrivers ,suchastheLiaoheRiver,theHaiheRiverandtheYellowRiver ,findtheirwaysintotheBohaiSeaandtransportlargeamountofnutrientsandsuspendedmattersfromthecontinentintothesea (Zhangetal.,1994 ;Zhang ,1996 ) .Duringthelasttwodecades ,marineenviron mentintheBohai…     

REPORT ON PONTONIINE SHRIMPS（CRUSTACEA：DECAPODA）COLLECTED BY JOINT CHINESE—GERMAN MARINE BIOLOGY EXPEDITIONS TO HAINAN ISLAND,SOUTH CHINA SEA i.ANCHISTUS,CONCHODYTES,CORALLIOCARIS

The present paper reports 7 species of pontoniine shrimps collected from Hainan Island,South China Sea,by the Joint Chinese-German Marine Biology Expeditions,in which,Conchodytes nipponensis(De Haan,1844)and Coralliocaris brevirostris Borradaile,1898 are new records from Chinese waters.     

Systematic position ofMucronella perforata Okada et Mawatari 1937

Mucronella perforata was first discovered from Onagawa Bay, northern Honshu, Japan, in 1937 by Okada and Mawatari. It was reported from Hong Kong and its neighboring waters and was referred to the genusHippopodina Levinsen, 1909 of the Family Hippopodinidae Levinsen, 1909 by Huang et al. (1990) and Huang (1994). According to the astogeny of the species, both the ancestrula and its successor zooids have an ascus proximal to the orifice, and its hyperstomial ovicells are imperforate, so it could not be a member of any known genus of the known families of the superfamily Schizoporelloidea Jullien, 1883 in the infraorder Lepraliomorpha Gordon, 1989. The new genusPacificincola and the new family Pacificincolidae established respectively on the basis of reexaminations of the Chinese specimens obtained from the southern Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the northern South China Sea.Schizoporella insculpta Hincks, 1880 andHippoporina mexicana Soule, Soule et Chaney, 1995 have been referred to the new genus in the paper. Contribution No. 3658 from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Project 39670100 supported by NSFC and work also supported by the Special Foundation of Biota, IOCAS.     

Numerical simulation and dynamic study of the wintertime circulation of the Bohai Sea

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＴｈｅＢｏｈａｉＳｅａ,ａｎａｌｍｏｓｔ ｃｌｏｓｅｄｓｈａｌｌｏｗｓｅａ,ｌｉｅｓｎｏｒｔｈｗｅｓｔｔｏｔｈｅＹｅｌｌｏｗＳｅａ.Ｆｉｇ.1ａｓｈｏｗｓｔｈｅｇｅ ｏｍｅｔｒｙｏｆｔｈｅｓｈｏｒｅｌｉｎｅａｎｄｔｈｅｗａｔｅｒｄｅｐｔｈｄｉｓｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅＢｏｈａｉＳｅａ,ｗｈｉｃｈｉｓｓｍａｌｌａｎｄｓｈａｌｌｏｗｃｏｍ ｐａｒｅｄｗｉｔｈｔｈｅＹｅｌｌｏｗＳｅａｏｒｔｈｅＥａｓｔＣｈｉｎａＳｅａ.Ｔｈｅｍｅａｎｄｅｐｔｈｉｓｌｅｓｓｔｈａｎ 2 0ｍｅｔｅｒｓ.Ｂｅ…     

A new pomfret species,Pampus minor sp. nov. (Stromateidae) from Chinese waters

Thirty-two 63.0–134.4 mm standard length specimens collected during 1954–1990 from the coastal waters of the South China Sea and the continental coast of the Taiwan Strait were identified as a new species,Pampus minor Liuet Li, sp. nov. Contribution No. 3329 from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Study supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences Special Grant for Biota Research.     

Report of Pontoniinae Shrimps （Crustacea： Decapoda） Collected by Joint Chinese-German Marine Biology Expeditions to Hainan Island, South China Sea. Ⅲ. PericHmenes

The present paper reports 12 species of genus Periclimenes, subfamily Pontoniinae, collected from Hainan Island, South China Sea, by the Joint Chinese-German Marine Biology Expeditions, in which, Periclimenes consobrinus and P. tenuipes are new records from Chinese waters, and Periclimenes amymone, P. holthuisi, P. soror, and P. toloensis are recorded for the first time from Hainan Island.     

Sequence comparison of partial cytochrome b genes of two Coilia species

Sequence variation of partial cytochrome b genes between two Coilia species, C. ectenes and C. mystus, was investigated. Of the 402 nucleotides, twenty-seven (6.72%) are polymorphic and all are synonymous substitutions. At the third positions of genetic condon of cytochrome b gene, the two species show an extreme anti-G bias (<4%) and a pronounced bias towards A and C (>68%). There is no amino acid sequence divergence between the partial cytochrome b genes of the two species, indicating a close genetic relationship between them. The k-2p genetic distance of partial cytochrome b segment of the two species is 0.072, suggesting that the species were separated 3.6 Ma ago, in the middle Pliocene. Our result reveals that the cytochrome b gene is an appropriate marker for studies of population genetic structures and phylogeographic patterns of the two species.     

Two new records of Pyramidellidae (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) from China seas

This paper reports two species of the family Pyramidellidae (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia), Otopleura nitida (A. Adams, 1854) and Rugadentia manzakiana (Yokoyama, 1922). The former was from the South China Sea and the latter was from the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. The study was based on the collections deposited in the Marine Biological Museum, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This is for the first time that these species have been recorded in China seas. In the current contribution, we describe and illustrate these two species, and compare them with similar species.