A monthly survey of the feeding selectivity of Ruditapes philippinarum in the Yalu River Estuary in 2020–2021 was conducted using high-throughput sequencing identification and visual grading technology. The results showed that the most-dominant species in the water of the shellfish culture area and in the stomachs of R. philippinarum was Karlodinium veneficum in those years. The selectivity index (E) indicated that R. philippinarum avoided consuming Bacillariophyta, Chrysophyta and Cryptophyta throughout the year and preferentially consumed Dinophyta and Chlorophyta. In 2020, the annual average biomass of Dinophyta, Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Dictyochophyta, Cryptophyta and Chrysophyta in the stomach contents of R. philippinarum was 54:14:16:1:10:4; it was 41:12:28:0:1:17 in 2021. The annual average biomass ratio of picophytoplankton, nanophytoplankton and microphytoplankton in the stomachs of R. philippinarum was 13:48:39 in 2020; it was 14:66:20 in 2021. R. philippinarum actively fed on nanophytoplankton and avoided picophytoplankton. Among the phytoplankton of different sizes and groups that R. philippinarum prefer to feed, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and organic phosphorus (DOP) have a significant negative effect on the nanophytoplankton community, pH has a positive effect on the Dictyochophyta community and COD and the inorganic nitrogen to phosphorus ratio (DI-N/P) have a significant positive effect on the Chlorophyta community.
The grain size structure of phytoplankton has great influence on shellfish culture. The present study aimed to assess the spatial and temporal variation in the phytoplankton community structure in the Yalu River Estuary and to explore the relationship between the phytoplankton community structure and various environmental parameters in 2020. High-throughput sequencing was used in this study. The results showed that nanophytoplankton, especially Karlodinium veneficum, dominated the estuary throughout the year. The biomass ratio of picophytoplankton, nanophytoplankton, and microphytoplankton were 20:63:17 in spring, 30:44:26 in summer, 1:38:61 in autumn, and 2:45:53 in winter, respectively. Meanwhile, Dinophyta had the greatest biomass throughout the year, followed by Bacillariophyta. On the spatial dimension (Station average), COD, T, SST had a positive impact on total phytoplankton communities, and Dep had a negative impact. In the time dimension (Monthly average), the environmental factor that significantly controlled the phytoplankton community structure were NO2 and SST.
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