Noctiluca Scintillans Distribution Largely Regulated by Phytoplankton Biomass in the East China Sea and Southern Yellow Sea

Abstract

Noctiluca scintillans feeds on a large number of phytoplankton, including diatoms and dinoflagellates, and frequently forms a red tide in the East China Sea (ECS) and southern Yellow Sea (SYS). However, the spatiotemporal distribution pattern, controlling factors, and long-term change of N. scintillans in the ECS and SYS remain unclear. In the present study, we collected N. scintillans samples from the ECS and SYS throughout the four seasons of 2011. We sampled phytoplankton and environmental parameters simultaneously. The depth-integrated abundance (DIA) of N. scintillans was the highest and lowest in summer and winter, respectively. N. scintillans is distributed abundantly in eutrophic coastal waters and the Changjiang Estuary, which are characterized by high concentrations of phytoplankton and chlorophyll-a. A Spearman correlation test demonstrated that its DIA in the upper 30-m water column was generally more significantly associated with phytoplankton abundance and chlorophyll-a concentration than with temperature and salinity. The results of the generalized additive models revealed that chlorophyll-a concentration explained more of the variation in N. scintillans abundance than temperature and salinity throughout the year, particularly in warm seasons. These findings indicate that the seasonal and spatial changes of N. scintillans are largely regulated by phytoplankton biomass. Compared with the historical data from 1959 and 2002, the abundance of N. scintillans in the Changjiang Estuary increased considerably in 2011 with increasing phytoplankton abundance resulting from accelerated eutrophication and warming. These results clarify the controlling factors, red-tide formation mechanism, and changing trends associated with the N. scintillans in the ECS and SYS.

Interannual Variation in the Zooplankton Community of the North Adriatic Sea under Short-Term Climatic Anomalies

“…In our samples, we also found some specimens containing Pleopis poliphemoides, Evadne nordmanni, and ostracods. The abundance of N. scintillans is usually linked to phytoplankton concentration and water column stability, as reported for East China Sea, Black Sea, open South Adriatic, and North Adriatic [62][63][64]. Our results confirmed the influence of primary productivity on Noctiluca cell concentration, which reached its peak in the northern sub-area, directly influenced by the Po River discharge in which low salinity values can increase water stratification in summer, while nutrient input from land fuels the formation of phytoplanktonic blooms [33,46,47].…”

Shift in algal blooms from micro‐ to macroalgae around China with increasing eutrophication and climate change

“…Therefore, it is less likely to be inhibited by macroalgal blooms, showing the lowest decrease rate. In addition, N. scintillans feeds on diatoms and the increased temperature could stimulate its grazing rate and thus growth (McLeod et al., 2012; Sheng et al., 2022). Allelopathic inhibition cannot explain the differential decreases in red tides caused by the four microalgal species since allelochemicals from U. prolifera have lower inhibition rates on S. costatum compared to P. donghaiense (Sun et al., 2019).…”

Interactions between Noctiluca scintillans and Three Co-Occurring Microalgae in Response to Varying Nutrient Levels

“…The proliferation of N. scintillans typically occurs in nearshore coastal regions with substantial nutrient inputs, such as areas that are influenced by upwelling phenomena [13,18]. These environments facilitate the growth of microalgae, which serve as the sole energy source for the development of red N. scintillans.…”