A COMPARISON OF EASTERN AND WESTERN HONG KONG PHYTOPLANKTON FROM WEEKLY SAMPLES (1997-1999)

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Diel fluctuations in dissolved free amino acids and monosaccharides in Chesapeake Bay dinoflagellate blooms

The accumulation of phytoplankton biomass in recurring summer dinoflagellate blooms of Chesapeake Bay is accompanied by large pools of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Two fractions of the DOM, free amino acids (DFAA) and monosaccharides (MONO), were measured at 3 h intervals in mixed species dinoflagellate blooms (Katodinium rotundatum, Gymnodinium spp.) and related to productivity, biomass and photoperiod. Peak chlorophyll levels for the three blooms were 28, 65 and 938 μg1⁻¹. In general, DFAA and MONO concentrations increased with increasing biomass of bloom-forming species, reaching 203 and 844 μg1⁻¹. MONO appeared to accumulate during the day while there was no consistent pattern for DFAA. The accumulations of DFAA and MONO in blooms indicate that bloom production might stimulate microheterotrophy, thereby enhancing carbon and nutrient cycling in bloom-impacted regions.     

Salt tolerance of Microcoleus vaginatus Gom., a cyanobacterium isolated from desert algal crust, was enhanced by exogenous carbohydrates

Microcoleus vaginatus isolated from a desert algal crust of Shapotou was cultured in BG-11 medium containing 0.2 mol l⁻¹ NaCl or 0.2 mol l⁻¹ NaCl plus 100 mg l⁻¹ sucrose, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) or hot water-soluble polysaccharides (HWP), respectively. Photosynthetic oxygen evolution rates, photosystem II activity (Fv/Fm) and dark respiration of NaCl-stressed cells were enhanced significantly by the added sucrose or EPS under salt stress conditions (0.2 mol l⁻¹ NaCl). Compared with cells treated with salt alone, sodium contents in cells reduced significantly; the content of cellular total carbohydrate did not change, and intracellular sucrose, water-soluble sugar increased significantly following the addition of exogenous carbohydrates. Sucrose synthase (SS) activity of NaCl-stressed cells increased following the addition of sucrose, and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) activity of NaCl-stressed cells increased following the addition of exogenous sucrose, EPS or HWP compared with cells stressed with NaCl only. The results suggested that the extruded EPS might be re-absorbed by cells of M. vaginatus as carbon source, they could increase salt tolerance of M. vaginatus through the changes of carbohydrate metabolism and the selective uptake of sodium ions.     

Global distribution of summer chlorophyll blooms in the oligotrophic gyres

Chlorophyll blooms consistently develop in the oligotrophic NE Pacific in late summer, isolated from land masses and sources of higher chlorophyll waters. These blooms are potentially driven by nitrogen fixation, or by vertically migrating phytoplankton, and a better understanding of their ubiquity could improve our estimate of the global nitrogen fixation rate. Here, global SeaWiFS chlorophyll data from 1997 to 2007 are examined to determine if similar blooms occur in other oligotrophic gyres. Our analysis revealed blooms in five other areas. Two of these are regions where blooms have been previously identified: the SW Pacific and off the southern tip of Madagascar. Previously, unnoticed summer blooms were also identified in the NE and SW Atlantic and in a band along 10°S in the Indian Ocean. There is considerable variation in the intensity and frequency of blooms in the different regions, occurring the least frequently in the Atlantic Ocean. The blooms that develop along 10°S in the Indian Ocean are unique in that they are clearly associated with a hydrographic feature, the 10°S thermocline ridge, which explains the bloom within a conventional upwelling scenario. The environment and timing of the blooms, developing in oligotrophic waters in late summer, are conducive to both nitrogen fixers and vertically migrating phytoplankton, which require a relatively stable water column. However, the specific locations of the chlorophyll blooms generally do not coincide with areas of maximum levels of nitrogen fixation or Trichodesmium. The NE Pacific chlorophyll blooms develop in a region with a very high SiO₄/NO₃ ratio, where silicate will not be a limiting nutrient for diatoms. The blooms often develop between eddies, wrapping around the periphery of anti-cyclonic features. However, none of the areas where the blooms develop have particularly high eddy kinetic energy, from either a basin-scale or a mesoscale perspective, suggesting that other factors, such as interactions with a front or dynamics associated with the critical latitude, operate in conjunction with the eddy field to produce the observed blooms.     

The ecology and phylogeny of cyanobacterial symbionts in sponges

Cyanobacteria have flexible photosynthetic apparatus that allows them to utilise light at very low levels, making them ideal symbionts for a wide range of organisms. Sponge associations with cyanobacteria are common in all areas of the world, but little is known about them. Recent research has revealed new cyanobacterial symbionts that may be host specific and two major clades, ' Candidatus Synechococcus spongiarum ' and Oscillatoria spongeliae , that occur in widely separated geographic locations in unrelated sponge hosts. These clades may represent a cluster of closely related symbiont species, or may be single species that are maintained by periods of horizontal transmission over large distances. Erroneous assumptions regarding the importance of cyanobacterial symbionts to the survival of individual sponges or species may arise from cyanosponges being deemed to be phototrophic or mixotrophic without studies of their photophysiology. This review brings together recent and past research on cyanobacterial associations with sponges, including their biogeography, phylogeny, host specificity, and ecology.     

太湖蓝藻水华遥感动态监测预警信息系统

太湖蓝藻水华暴发对其周边地区的生态、经济和社会造成了严重影响,对蓝藻水华进行监测预警对于改善太湖水环境具有重要意义。本文在分析蓝藻水华遥感监测预警研究动态基础上,从信息系统构建角度,结合太湖蓝藻水华监测情况,对太湖蓝藻水华遥感监测预警流程进行系统性分析,提出建立太湖蓝藻水华遥感监测预警系统的总体框架,利用C#语言和IDL语言实现了该框架的软件架构,并且论述了实现该系统框架所采用的系统集成技术和软件模式技术。     

海洋有害藻华研究进展

浮游植物不仅是食物链的基础环节,也在生物地球化学循环中起着重要作用。然而,某些种类在一定条件下会过度增殖富集形成有害藻华(因造成水色变为红、绿、褐、金等颜色,所以俗称为赤潮、绿潮、褐潮、金潮等),结果严重影响当地经济、海洋生态系统、全球生物地球化学循环甚至人类健康。近年来,随着水体富营养化、全球气候变化等现象加剧,有害藻华(Harmful Algal Bloom,HAB)的暴发规模和频次呈逐年增加趋势,且相关研究已成为环境生态学领域的热点。本文主要以典型海洋HAB生物为线索,从物种分布、生物监测、主要影响因素、分子机制及防治等方面概述了近十年HAB的主要研究进展,总结了现有研究的优点和不足,并对未来HAB研究做了相关展望。近十年的研究进展主要体现在:(1)不断有新的HAB物种被发现或鉴定,HAB藻类系统分类也不断被更新;(2)鉴定、检测方法包括DNA分析、生物传感器研发应用等有较大改进;(3)藻类毒素生物合成通路的研究有一定进展;(4)在HAB生态学与海洋学研究持续发展的基础上,分子机制及现代组学发展较迅速。然而, HAB发生的关键环境诱因和生物学(特别是生化与分子)机制仍然不是很清楚,缺乏一个可用来预测HAB暴发的关键因子。笔者认为,一方面是因为HAB的复杂性、种类及生态系统的特异性,另一方面是研究缺乏系统性与完整性。因此未来有必要加强对每一个重要的HAB原因种开展系统、持续的研究,类似于生物科学领域里的模式种研究,并且有必要开展综合性的研究,如实验室单种培养、中尺度模拟及现场生态研究相结合,整合现代组学、传统生理生态学和现场实时连续观测等技术。     

Identification of dissolved and particulate carbonyl compounds produced by marine harmful algal bloom species

Carbonyl compounds, especially polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs), are increasingly reported as teratogenic to grazers and deleterious to phytoplankton. While PUAs have been considered to be mainly produced by diatoms after cell wounding, little is known about whether microalgae other than diatoms, particularly harmful algal bloom (HAB)-forming species, produce carbonyl compounds. In this study, we analyzed the carbonyl compounds from eight common HAB-forming species ( Akashiwo sanguinea , Karenia mikimotoi , Karlodinium venefi cum , Margalefi dinium polykrikoides , Prorocentrum donghaiense , P . minimum , Scrippsiella trochoidea , and Heterosigma akashiwo ) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in full scan and selected ion monitoring (SIM) modes. Our results show a ubiquitous presence of carbonyl compounds in both dissolved and particulate forms in all species we examined. In the full scan mode, 133 chromatographic peaks were detected from 51 samples altogether. Both the varieties of carbonyl compounds and their quantities were algal species dependent, although most of the carbonyl compounds could not be fully identifi ed according to the mass spectral database only due to the unavailability of enough standards for all analytes. Aided with nine standards in SIM mode, we further identifi ed and quantifi ed all nine aldehydes (2-methyl-2-pentenal, trans-2-nonenal, cis-6-nonenal, 2,6-dimethyl-5-heptenal, trans-2-hexenal, trans-2- decenal, 2,4-heptadienal, trans-trans-2,4-octadienal, and trans-trans-2,4-decadienal). Four of these nine aldehydes were detected in particulate form, which confi rmed that trans-2-nonenal could be produced by K . mikimotoi , Karl . venefi cum , P . donghaiense , P . minimum , S . trochoidea , and H . akashiwo , 2,4-heptadienal and trans-trans-2,4-decadienal by A . sanguinea , M . polykrikoides , and S . trochoidea , and trans, trans-2,4- octadienal by S . trochoidea , respectively. We proved that some dinofl agellate and raphidophyte species could contribute to the pool of carbonyl compounds including PUAs in a marine ecosystem. Some carbonyl compounds, particularly those in high cell quota and/or dissolved concentration, may be related to fi shkilling or allelopathy which needs further identifi cation and quantifi cation.     

Effects of pulsed nutrient inputs on phytoplankton assemblage structure and blooms in an enclosed coastal area

The response of phytoplankton assemblage structure to terrestrial nutrient inputs was examined for the Gulf of Kalloni in the Northern Aegean Sea, a productive semi-enclosed coastal marine ecosystem. The study was focused on a typical annual cycle, and emphasis was placed on the comparative analysis between blooms developing after significant nutrient inputs from the watershed, and naturally occurring blooms. Baseline information was collected on a monthly basis from a network of stations located in the oligotrophic open sea and the interior and more productive part of the embayment. Intensive sampling was also carried out along a gradient in the vicinity of a river which was the most important source of freshwater and nutrient input for the Gulf. Phytoplankton assemblage structure was analyzed from 188 samples using diversity indices (Shannon and Average Taxonomic Distinctness), multivariate plotting methods (NMDS), multivariate statistics (PERMANOVA), and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Three characteristic assemblages were recognized: (1) an autumn assemblage developed under nutrient depleted conditions, having low diversity due to the dominance of two small diatoms, (2) a winter bloom of the potentially toxic species Pseudo-nitzschia calliantha occurring immediately after a nutrient peak and characterized by very low diversity, and (3) a naturally occurring early summer bloom of centric diatoms with relatively high diversity. The results of the study support the view that moderate nutrient inputs may have a beneficial effect on the functioning of coastal ecosystems, stimulating the taxonomic diversity through the growth of different taxonomic groups and taxa. On the other hand, a sudden pulse of high nutrient concentrations may greatly affect the natural succession of organisms, have a negative effect on the diversity through the dominance of a single species, and can increase the possibility of a harmful algal bloom development.