title: Abnormally high phytoplankton biomass near the lagoon mouth in the Huangyan Atoll, South China Sea.
abstract: Nutrient concentration and phytoplankton biomass were investigated in Huangyan Atoll in May 2015. The concentrations of nutrients were very low, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen was composed mainly of ammonia. Nitrogen likely was the primary limiting factor for phytoplankton growth. The spatial variation of phytoplankton biomass was significant among the lagoon, reef flats, and outer reef slopes. Extremely high chlorophyll a concentration and micro-phytoplankton abundance were found in the region near the lagoon mouth. This high phytoplankton biomass might be due to nutrient input from fishing vessels and phytoplankton aggregation driven by the southwestern wind. Our results indicate that phytoplankton biomass could be a reliable indicator of habitat differences in this coral reef ecosystem, and micro-phytoplankton seems to be more sensitive to nutrient input than pico-phytoplankton.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, West Xin'gang Road 164#, Guangzhou 510301, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhixin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PR China.
authors.forename: Huajian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PR China.
authors.forename: Junxing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PR China.
authors.forename: Jiaxing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PR China. Electronic address: tanyh@scsio.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yehui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002681:China; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000254:growth & development*; D014919:Wind
chemical_list: D002734:Chlorophyll; D009584:Nitrogen; D000077194:Chlorophyll A
keywords: Chlorophyll a; Coral reef; Eutrophication; Huangyan Atoll; Phytoplankton