Changes in phytoplankton size structure in the East Sea 2018-2020 due to marine environment change

Park, Kyung Woo; Oh, Hyun Ju; Hwang, Jae Dong; Moon, Su Yeon; Lee, Min Uk; Youn, Seok Hyun

doi:10.11626/kjeb.2022.40.1.054

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In contrast, in this study, high contributions were made by nano-and pico-sized phytoplankton across all depths, particularly in the surface mixed layer where nutrient levels were relatively low. These results are consistent with recent results reported for the East/Japan Sea and East China Sea, which revealed that rising surface water temperature strengthens stratification and reduces nutrient influx into the surface mixed layer, resulting in a high chl-a contribution from smaller phytoplankton [15,16]. The statistical analyses indicated that the correlation between nutrient levels and phytoplankton size structure was clear.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The concentration of surface nutrients continues to decrease due to the strengthening of the ocean surface stratification [12,13], resulting in phytoplankton miniaturization [14][15][16]. Recently, primary productivity in Korean waters has exhibited a rapidly decreasing trend, with phytoplankton miniaturization purported to be the primary contributing factor [17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change

Park,

Chung,

Yoo

et al. 2023

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Herein, we conducted surveys during the 2018–2022 summers to investigate the impact of climate change-related changes in the phytoplankton community structure on the marine ecosystem in the South Sea of Korea. The average surface water temperature increased by ~1.07 °C at 0.0195 °C·yr−1 between 1968 and 2022. During the summers, the rate was 0.0211 °C·yr−1, with a total increase of ~1.16 °C, indicating a stronger increase in summer surface water temperature. Over the last 30 years, nutrient levels in the South Sea have decreased, particularly at the surface. Moreover, 29.3–90.0% of the phytoplankton community structure was dominated by nanoflagellates (≤20 μm). Based on the size of the phytoplankton chl-a, the average contribution rate of picophytoplankton was the highest (60.1%). Redundancy analysis revealed negative correlations between nutrients and water depth, excluding NH4. Increased stratification due to climate change is causing reduced nutrient availability at the surface mixed layer, and the size of the phytoplankton structure is progressively reducing. These changes are expected to manifest in a complex microbial food web centered on smaller phytoplankton with low primary productivity. This can reduce the efficiency of carbon transfer to higher consumer levels, suggesting a potential decrease in marine productivity.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%