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In the present study, we report N2 fixation rate (15N isotope tracer assay) and the diazotroph community structure (using the molecular method) in the western tropical North Pacific Ocean (WTNP) (13°–20°N, 120°–160°E). Our independent evidence on the basis of both in situ N2 fixation activity and diazotroph community structure showed the dominance of unicellular N2 fixation over majority of the WTNP surface waters during the sampling periods. Moreover, a shift in the diazotrophic composition from unicellular cyanobacteria group B-dominated to Trichodesmium spp.-dominated toward the western boundary current (Kuroshio) was also observed in 2013. We hypothesize that nutrient availability may have played a major role in regulating the biogeography of N2 fixation. In surface waters, volumetric N2 fixation rate (calculated by nitrogen) ranged between 0.6 and 2.6 nmol/(L·d) and averaged (1.2±0.5) nmol/(L·d), with

Temperature increase caused by thermal discharge from power plants promotes phytoplankton growth and frequent bloom in eutrophic subtropical waters, particularly in cold seasons. Suspension filter-feeding bivalves show size-selective grazing on phytoplankton. Thus, we hypothesized that algal bloom under thermal stimulation could be controlled and that phytoplankton community was structured by oyster farming. Here, ten cruises were conducted in two oyster farms (OFs) and control areas (CAs) adjacent to the Ninghai Power Plant in the upper section of Xiangshan Bay during 2009-2015. We found that thermal discharge induced severe winter algal blooms. Phytoplankton abundance and chlorophyll a (chla) were significantly lower (46.3% and 28.3%, respectively) in OF than in CA, indicating a high filtration efficiency by oysters and the associated biofouling assemblages. In addition, oyster farming significantly increased species richness (by 26.3%), Shannon-Wiener diversity (by 38.3%), and Pielou's evenness indices (by 28.8%) and reduced suspended solids (by 12.2%), total organic carbon (by 18.4%), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (by 1.5%), and phosphorus (by 3.7%). Furthermore, oyster farming considerably reduced (increased) micro-chla contribution (pheophytin/chla) by 34.8% (71.1%), suggesting a strong size-selective grazing on phytoplankton. Analysis of similarity revealed a significant difference in phytoplankton community composition between OF and CA. However, after the removal of culture rafts, all the abundance, chla, species diversity, dominant species, size structure, and community composition of phytoplankton showed no significant difference. Our study demonstrated that oyster farming effectively alleviated eutrophication and algal bloom and enhanced phytoplankton diversity, which provides guidance for aquaculture and ecological restoration in subtropical coastal eutrophic waters.

The impacts of fish cage culture and suspended oyster culture on macrobenthic communities were investigated in Xiangshan Bay, China, on a seasonal basis from January to October of 2015. Samples were collected from a fish cage farm, a suspended oyster farm, and two corresponding reference sites. Two-way ANOVA results showed that species richness, abundance, biomass, and Shannon-Wiener diversity differed significantly between the four different investigated areas, and different seasons as well. Cluster analysis showed that macrobenthic community composition in the fish and oyster culture areas significantly differed from that in the reference sites, respectively. Trophic structure of macrobenthos in the fish and oyster culture areas mostly clustered together owing to higher abundance and biomass of surface-deposit feeders and carnivores. The macrobenthic communities and feeding guilds correlated highly with environmental factors, such as bottom water chlorophyll a and nutrients, as well as sediment total organic carbon. Although integrated multi-trophic aquaculture is regarded as a suitable approach to coordinate desirable economic, social, and environmentally sustainable outcomes, coastal ecosystems may suffer from large-scale nutrient enrichment due to aquaculture and other human activities, which should not be considered in isolation.

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 affecting 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.

Centropages abdominalis Sato, a common cold-water copepod that is distributed widely in the coastal waters of the North Pacific, appears seasonally in winter and spring as the key zooplankton in the Xiangshan Bay, a typical subtropical semi-closed bay in China. Here, we hypothesised that C. abdominalis could produce diapause eggs as an over-summering strategy in late spring as a response to the increasing temperature and day length. We conducted 11 cruises and in situ reproduction experiments from April 2017 to June 2018 to reveal the variation in the reproductive strategies of C. abdominalis and the related environmental factors. The results showed that the revival of diapause eggs in the inner and middle part of the Xiangshan Bay should contribute to the initial population recruitment in early winter. Sustaining subitaneous egg production supported the instantaneous population recruitment in later winter and spring, and diapause eggs were mainly produced at the upper thermal distribution of C. abdominalis (16.12–21.32 °C) to over-summer in late spring. Temperature was the essential environmental factor that affected the shift in reproductive strategy for C. abdominalis, with an optimum temperature of 19.51 °C for diapause egg production and 11.63 °C for subitaneous one in the Xiangshan Bay. Furthermore, the long-day photoperiod possibly acted as a seasonal change signal for C. abdominalis to produce diapause eggs in late spring in the Xiangshan Bay. The timing of diapause egg production for C. abdominalis could be earlier in lower-latitude waters with shorter day length, as an acclimatisation to warmer habitats. Besides, salinity and Chl a concentration had less effects on diapause eggs production of C. abdominalis in this case. Confronted with ocean warming, the diapause egg period of cold-water copepod (like C. abdominalis) would be prolongated, leading to a reduced population appearance period, especially in lower-latitude waters.

Summary To examine the distribution of Trichodesmium relative to physicochemical factors during summer in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary and adjacent East China Sea shelf, three cruises were conducted separately in June 2009, July 2011, and August 2009. Trichodesmium species found were T. thiebautii , T. erythraeum , and T. hildebrandtii . The population was dominated by T. thiebautii , which accounted for >85% of the samples found. Most of them were free trichomes. Colonial forms were rarely observed (approximately 10% of our samples), occurring only in offshore waters. The depth integrated abundances of Trichodesmium were 308 × 10 3 , 1709 × 10 3 , and 3448 × 10 3 trichomes m −2 in June, July, and August, respectively. Trichodesmium was distributed abundantly in the southern or southeastern part of our study area, where nutrients were low and light penetration, temperature, and salinity were high, which were influenced by the Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) and Kuroshio. Trichodesmium was found in low abundance in inshore, eutrophic, low-salinity waters, which were mainly controlled by the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW) and coastal current. These results suggest that spatiotemporal changes in the summer Trichodesmium distribution correlate highly with the variations in physicochemical properties that are primarily controlled by the TWC, Kuroshio, and CDW. The summer N 2 fixation rate of Trichodesmium was estimated at 12.3 μmol N m −2 d −1 in our study area, contributing >50% of biological N 2 fixation.

To evaluate the effects of different anthropogenic activities on zooplankton and the pelagic ecosystem, we conducted seasonal cruises in 2010 to assess spatial heterogeneity among the mesozooplankton communities of Xiangshan Bay, a subtropical semi-enclosed bay in China. The evaluation included five different areas: a kelp farm, an oyster farm, a fish farm, the thermal discharge area of a power plant, and an artificial reef, and we aimed to identify whether anthropogenic activities dominated spatial variation in the mesozooplankton communities. The results demonstrated clear spatial heterogeneity among the mesozooplankton communities of the studied areas, dominantly driven by natural hydrographic properties, except in the area near the thermal discharge outlet of the power station. In the outlet area, thermal shock caused by the discharge influenced the mesozooplankton community by decreasing abundance and biomass throughout the four seasons, even causing a shift in the dominant species near the outlet during summer fromAcartia pacificato eurythermal and warm water taxa. Unique features of the mesozooplankton community in the oyster farm may be due to the combined effects of oyster culture and the natural environment in the branch harbour. However, kelp and fish culture, and the construction of an artificial reef did not exert any obvious influence on the mesozooplankton communities up to 2010, probably because of the small scale of the aquaculture and a time lag in the rehabilitation effects of the artificial reef. Thus, our results suggested that the dominant factors influencing spatial variations of mesozooplankton communities in Xiangshan Bay were still the natural hydrographic properties, but the thermal discharge was an anthropogenic activity that changed the pelagic ecosystem, and should be supervised.

Coastal eutrophication and its associated harmful algal blooms have emerged as one of the most severe environmental problems worldwide. Seaweed cultivation has been widely encouraged to control eutrophication and algal blooms. Among them, cultivated kelp (Saccharina japonica) dominates primarily by production and area. However, the responses of water quality and phytoplankton community to kelp farming remain unclear. Here, thirteen cruises were conducted in the kelp farms and control areas in the turbid, highly eutrophic Xiangshan Bay of the East China Sea from 2008 to 2015. Results indicated that kelp cultivation slightly increased dissolved oxygen and pH, but reduced dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus. We estimated that kelp harvesting would remove 297 t of nitrogen and 42 t of phosphorus from this bay annually. Because of decreased flow velocity, turbulence, and sediment resuspension, kelp farming greatly reduced suspended solids and increased transparency, resulting in increases in phytoplankton chlorophyll a and abundance. Additionally, kelp farming appreciably increased phytoplankton species number, Marglef richness, and Shannon–Wiener diversity indices by 51.6%, 40.1%, and 13.1%, respectively. Analysis of similarity and similarity percentages demonstrated that phytoplankton community composition differed significantly between the farm and control area, which was mostly attributed to long-chained diatoms and single-celled dinoflagellates. However, after the kelp harvesting, all measurements of water quality and phytoplankton biomass, diversity, and community composition exhibited no significant difference. Our study highlights that kelp cultivation alleviates eutrophication and acidification and enhances phytoplankton diversity, thus providing guidance for macroalgal aquaculture and remediation in eutrophic waters.

To explore the effects of coastal eutrophication and warming on phytoplankton biomass and cell size, we analyzed current and historical data for size-fractionated chlorophyll a (chla) in Xiangshan Bay, China. Results showed that micro- and nanophytoplankton overwhelmingly dominated (>84%) in all seasons. The contribution of micro-chla was significantly lower in warm than in cold seasons, whereas contribution of pico-chla showed the opposite result. Overall, the micro-chla contribution increased with decreasing pico-chla contribution from the stable, clear, eutrophic upper bay to the turbulent, turbid lower bay, indicating that phytoplankton size structure on a spatial scale was largely shaped by water column stability and light rather than by nutrients. Since the 1980s, phytoplankton biomass, primary productivity, and micro-chla contribution in Xiangshan Bay have increased sharply with increasing nutrient amounts and temperature. Additionally, it seems that algal bloom seasonality has shifted forward from spring to winter since the power plant operations in 2006.

Benthic macrofaunal communities along an estuarine gradient of a macrotidal estuary of the Jiaojiang River, China were analyzed to reveal spatial variations in those communities and their relationships with environmental variables. Benthic macrofauna were collected from 15 sampling stations in May and October 2010. Polychaetes and Mollusks are the dominant taxonomic groups. The species richness, density and Shannon diversity index generally tended to increase as one moved away from shore toward the outer stations of the estuary. Cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling ordinations indicated the presence of three distinct zones of macrofaunal communities in the estuary. Multivariate analyses showed a strong relationship exists between the macrofaunal communities and the environmental parameters in the Jiaojiang River estuary. Aside from salinity, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphate contents were also the major factor affecting the structure of the macrofaunal communities. The results demonstrated the important effects of nutrient-load on the distributional patterns of benthic macrofaunal communities in nutrient-rich estuaries.

Quantitative and precise observation of the phytoplankton is required for biogeochemical and environmental monitoring in coastal seas. However, phytoplankton data may vary greatly depending on the sampling methods. Net and water collection methods are widely adopted for obtaining marine phytoplankton in China; yet, exact differences and relationships between water- and net-collected phytoplankton communities remain poorly understood. Here, annual phytoplankton surveys in the southern Yellow Sea were conducted using these two sampling methods. Compared with water collection, net collection resulted in the loss of numerous noncolonial small-celled species, particularly cryptophytes and coccolithophores, and reduced phytoplankton depth-averaged abundance (DAA) by 1–2 orders of magnitude. However, through net collection, some scarce, large, or colonial species with low abundances were obtained, and the net-collected DAA distribution was highly consistent with the water-collected DAA distribution in each season. Moreover, DAAs of planktonic large-celled or long-chained dominant species, belonging to diatom, dinoflagellate, and cyanobacteria, were comparable in net- and water-collected samples. Regression analysis showed highly significant regression coefficients between net- and water-collected DAAs of phytoplankton, diatom, and diatom plus dinoflagellate, suggesting that net-collected data could be roughly derived from water-collected results. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarity indicated that phytoplankton community composition significantly differed between net- and water-collected samples. Similarity percentages confirmed that this difference was largely attributed to small-sized benthic and meroplanktonic diatoms, unidentified cryptophytes and coccolithophores, and single-celled dinoflagellates. Our results suggest that the sampling method profoundly influences phytoplankton analysis in terms of species information, abundance, dominant species, and community composition.