JPR Advance Access originally published online on December 23, 2005
Journal of Plankton Research 2006 28(3):337-343; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbi117
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SHORT COMMUNICATION |
Picoplankton community structure at a coastal front region in the northern part of the South China Sea
1 State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 Zhongshan Road North, Shanghai 200062, P. R. China, 2 EIA Department, Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, 508 Qinzhou Road, Shanghai 200233, P. R. China, 3 College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, 5 Yushan Road, Qingdao 266003, P. R. China and 4 Laboratory of Ocean Dynamic Processes and Satellite Oceanography, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xixihexia No. 9, Hangzhou 310012, P. R. China
* Corresponding Author: panluoan{at}163.com/panluoan{at}126.com
Received September 29, 2005; accepted in principle November 16, 2005; accepted for publication December 20, 2005; published online December 23, 2005
Communicating editor: K.J. Flynn
Abundances of picoplankton groups were determined by flow cytometry in the Northern South China Sea (SCS) in winter 2004 to study the dynamics of picoplankton at a coastal front region. Prochlorococcus is more abundant in relatively high temperature and salinity waters than in nearshore area. Heterotrophic bacteria dominate in total picoplanktonic biomass but keep rather stable in biomass and surface/bottom biomass ratio on both sides of the front. Increases of picophytoplanktonic biomass and their surface/bottom biomass ratio are remarkable mainly owing to the contribution of Synechococcus on the offshore open SCS waters. Temperature is found to limit the growth of Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus. Picoeukaryotes and heterotrophic bacteria are less sensitive to the change in hydrographic conditions across the front. The autotrophic/heterotrophic biomass ratio of picoplankton is lower in eutrophic coastal waters on the nearshore side relative to the offshore and oligotrophic open SCS.