Carbon-to-chlorophyll ratio and carbon content of phytoplankton community at the surface in coastal waters adjacent to the Zhujiang River Estuary during summer

Xiaoyong Yu; Jie Xu; Aimin Long; Ruihuan Li; Zhen Shi; Qian P Li

doi:10.1007/s13131-020-1556-6

Volume 39 Issue 2

Turn off MathJax

Article Contents

Abstract

References

Article Navigation > Acta Oceanologica Sinica > 2020 > 39(2): 123-131

Xiaoyong Yu, Jie Xu, Aimin Long, Ruihuan Li, Zhen Shi, Qian P Li. Carbon-to-chlorophyll ratio and carbon content of phytoplankton community at the surface in coastal waters adjacent to the Zhujiang River Estuary during summer[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2020, 39(2): 123-131. doi: 10.1007/s13131-020-1556-6

Citation:

Xiaoyong Yu, Jie Xu, Aimin Long, Ruihuan Li, Zhen Shi, Qian P Li. Carbon-to-chlorophyll ratio and carbon content of phytoplankton community at the surface in coastal waters adjacent to the Zhujiang River Estuary during summer[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2020, 39(2): 123-131. doi: 10.1007/s13131-020-1556-6

Citation:

Xiaoyong Yu, Jie Xu, Aimin Long, Ruihuan Li, Zhen Shi, Qian P Li. Carbon-to-chlorophyll ratio and carbon content of phytoplankton community at the surface in coastal waters adjacent to the Zhujiang River Estuary during summer[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2020, 39(2): 123-131. doi: 10.1007/s13131-020-1556-6

PDF( 2171 KB)

Carbon-to-chlorophyll ratio and carbon content of phytoplankton community at the surface in coastal waters adjacent to the Zhujiang River Estuary during summer

doi: 10.1007/s13131-020-1556-6

Xiaoyong Yu^{1, 2},
Jie Xu^{1, 2
,
,},
Aimin Long^{1, 2},
Ruihuan Li¹,
Zhen Shi¹,
Qian P Li^{1, 2}

1.
State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
2.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41476137; the project of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology under contract No. QNLM2016ORP0305.

More Information

Corresponding author: E-mail: xujie@scsio.ac.cn
Received Date: 2018-04-11
Accepted Date: 2018-05-18

Available Online: 2020-04-21

Publish Date: 2020-02-25

Abstract

Abstract

Chlorophyll a (Chl a), particulate organic carbon (POC) and biogenic silica (BSi) were determined in coastal waters adjacent to the Zhujiang (Pearl) River Estuary (ZRE) during summer, in order to examine the C:Chl a ratio of phytoplankton and phytoplankton carbon in the plume-impacted coastal waters during summer, as well as to assess the relative contribution of diatoms to the phytoplankton biomass, by the regression between Chl a, POC and BSi. Our results showed that the C:Chl a ratio (g/g) of phytoplankton was high (up to 142), likely due to high light intensity and nutrient limitation. The river plume input stimulated phytoplankton growth, especially diatoms, resulting in higher relative contribution of phytoplankton carbon (55%) and diatoms (34%) to POC in the plume-impacted region than those (33% and 13%) in high salinity area, respectively. Phytoplankton carbon (up to 538 μg/L) in the plume-impacted region was much higher than that (<166 μg/L) in high salinity area. Our findings were helpful to improve the biogeochemical model in coastal waters adjacent to the ZRE.
- chlorophyll a,
- particulate organic carbon,
- biogenic silica,
- phytoplankton carbon,
- diatoms

FullText(HTML)

References(28)

References

[1]	Buck K R, Chavez F P, Campbell L. 1996. Basin-wide distributions of living carbon components and the inverted trophic pyramid of the central gyre of the North Atlantic Ocean, Summer 1993. Aquatic Microbial Ecology, 10(3): 283–298. doi: 10.3354/ame010283
[2]	Chan A T. 1980. Comparative physiological study of marine diatoms and dinoflagellates in relation to irradiance and cell-size. II. Relationship between photosynthesis, growth, and carbon/chlorophyll a ratio. Journal of Phycology, 16(3): 428–432. doi: 10.1111/j.1529-8817.1980.tb03056.x
[3]	Chang J, Shiah F K, Gong G C, et al. 2003. Cross-shelf variation in carbon-to-chlorophyll a ratios in the East China Sea, Summer 1998. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 50(6–7): 1237–1247. doi: 10.1016/S0967-0645(03)00020-1
[4]	Cho B C, Azam F. 1990. Biogeochemical significance of bacterial biomass in the ocean’s euphotic zone. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 63: 253–259. doi: 10.3354/meps063253
[5]	Geider R J. 1993. Quantitative phytoplankton physiology: implications for primary production and phytoplankton growth. In: Proceedings of ICES Marine Science Symposium. Vol 197. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 52–62
[6]	Grasshoff K, Kremling K, Ehrhardt M. 1999. Methods of Seawater Analysis. 3rd ed. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 159–228
[7]	Hunter B L, Laws E A. 1981. ATP and chlorophyll a as estimators of phytoplankton carbon biomass. Limnology and Oceanography, 26(5): 944–956. doi: 10.4319/lo.1981.26.5.0944
[8]	Jakobsen H H, Markager S. 2016. Carbon-to-chlorophyll ratio for phytoplankton in temperate coastal waters: seasonal patterns and relationship to nutrients. Limnology and Oceanography, 61(5): 1853–1868. doi: 10.1002/lno.10338
[9]	Laws E A, Bannister T T. 1980. Nutrient- and light-limited growth of thalassiosira fluviatilis in continuous culture, with implications for phytoplankton growth in the ocean. Limnology and Oceanography, 25(3): 457–473. doi: 10.4319/lo.1980.25.3.0457
[10]	Li Q P, Hansell D A. 2008. Nutrient distributions in baroclinic eddies of the oligotrophic North Atlantic and inferred impacts on biology. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 55(10–13): 1291–1299. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2008.01.009
[11]	Li Q P, Hansell D A, Zhang Jiazhong. 2008. Underway monitoring of nanomolar nitrate plus nitrite and phosphate in oligotrophic seawater. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 6(7): 319–326. doi: 10.4319/lom.2008.6.319
[12]	Lü Shuguo, Wang Xuchen, Han Boping. 2009. A field study on the conversion ratio of phytoplankton biomass carbon to chlorophyll-a in Jiaozhou Bay, China. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 27(4): 793–805. doi: 10.1007/s00343-009-9221-0
[13]	Mao H L, Kan T C, Lan S F. 1963. A preliminary study of the Yangtze diluted water and its mixing processes. Oceanologia et Limnologia Sinica (in Chinese), 5(3): 183–206
[14]	Meyers P A. 1994. Preservation of elemental and isotopic source identification of sedimentary organic matter. Chemical Geology, 114(3–4): 289–302. doi: 10.1016/0009-2541(94)90059-0
[15]	Neale P J, Cullen J J, Yentsch C M. 1989. Bio-optical inferences from chlorophyll a fluorescence: What kind of fluorescence is measured in flow cytometry?. Limnology and Oceanography, 34(8): 1739–1748. doi: 10.4319/lo.1989.34.8.1739
[16]	Nelson D M, Tréguer P, Brzezinski M A, et al. 1995. Production and dissolution of biogenic silica in the ocean: revised global estimates, comparison with regional data and relationship to biogenic sedimentation. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 9(3): 359–372. doi: 10.1029/95GB01070
[17]	Parsons T R, Maita Y, Lalli C M. 1984. A Manual of Chemical & Biological Methods for Seawater Analysis. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 101–104
[18]	Ragueneau O, Savoye N, Del Amo Y, et al. 2005. A new method for the measurement of biogenic silica in suspended matter of coastal waters: using Si: Al ratios to correct for the mineral interference. Continental Shelf Research, 25(5–6): 697–710. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2004.09.017
[19]	Redalje D G, Laws E A. 1981. A new method for estimating phytoplankton growth rates and carbon biomass. Marine Biology, 62(1): 73–79. doi: 10.1007/BF00396953
[20]	Ren Jingling, Zhang Jing, Luo Jingqing, et al. 2001. Improved fluorimetric determination of dissolved aluminium by micelle-enhanced lumogallion complex in natural waters. Analyst, 126(5): 698–702. doi: 10.1039/b007593k
[21]	Small L F, Prahl F G. 2004. A particle conveyor belt process in the columbia river estuary: evidence from chlorophyll a and particulate organic carbon. Estuaries, 27(6): 999–1013. doi: 10.1007/BF02803426
[22]	Taylor A H, Geider R J, Gilbert F J H. 1997. Seasonal and latitudinal dependencies of phytoplankton carbon-to-chlorophyll a ratios: results of a modelling study. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 152: 51–66. doi: 10.3354/meps152051
[23]	Tréguer P J, De La Rocha C L. 2013. The world ocean silica cycle. Annual Review of Marine Science, 5: 477–501. doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-121211-172346
[24]	Vázquez-Domínguez E, Morán X A G, López-Urrutia A. 2013. Photoacclimation of picophytoplankton in the central Cantabrian Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 493: 43–56. doi: 10.3354/meps10549
[25]	Wienke S M, Cloern J E. 1987. The phytoplankton component of seston in San Francisco Bay. Netherlands Journal of Sea Research, 21(1): 25–33. doi: 10.1016/0077-7579(87)90020-2
[26]	Xu Jie, Ho A Y T, Yin Kedong, et al. 2008. Temporal and spatial variations in nutrient stoichiometry and regulation of phytoplankton biomass in Hong Kong waters: influence of the Pearl River outflow and sewage inputs. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 57(6–12): 335–348. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.01.020
[27]	Yin Kedong, Qian Peiyuan, Chen J C, et al. 2000. Dynamics of nutrients and phytoplankton biomass in the Pearl River Estuary and adjacent waters of Hong Kong during summer: preliminary evidence for phosphorus and silicon limitation. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 194: 295–305. doi: 10.3354/meps194295
[28]	Zeitzschel B. 1970. The quantity, composition and distribution of suspended particulate matter in the Gulf of California. Marine Biology, 7(4): 305–318. doi: 10.1007/BF00750823