Green Tides in the Yellow Sea Promoted the Proliferation of Pelagophyte Aureococcus anophagefferens

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms formed by fast-growing, ephemeral macroalgae have expanded worldwide, yet there is limited knowledge of their potential ecological consequences. Here, we select intense green tides formed by Ulva prolifera in the Yellow Sea, China, to examine the ecological consequences of these blooms. Using 28-isofucosterol in the surface sediment as a biomarker of green algae, we identified the settlement region of massive floating green algae in the area southeast of the Shandong Peninsula in the southern Yellow Sea. The responses of the phytoplankton assemblage from the deep chlorophyll-a maximum layer were then resolved using high-throughput sequencing. We found striking changes in the phytoplankton community in the settlement region after an intensive green tide in 2016, characterized by a remarkable increase in the abundance of the pelagophyte Aureococcus anophagefferens, the causative species of ecosystem disruptive brown tides. Our study strongly suggests that the occurrence of massive macroalgal blooms may promote blooms of specific groups of microalgae through alteration of the marine environment.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Coastal Viral Community Structure and Potential Biogeochemical Roles Affected by an Ulva prolifera Green Tide

“…1b ; Table S1 ). This is counter to what might be expected and may be due to the growth of some microalgae after the green tide ( 25 , 26 ), resulting in an increase in chlorophyll concentration in seawater. The temperature and salinity gradually increased with the bloom, while pH values increased after the arrival of bloom (on day 165) and then gradually decreased starting on day 181 ( Fig.…”

Legacy Effects of Late Macroalgal Blooms on Dissolved Inorganic Carbon Pool through Alkalinity Enhancement in Coastal Ocean

“…During this period, large amounts of algal detritus were released and sunk down. At the end of the green tides, massive macroalgae sank to the seafloor . Therefore, we focused on investigating the bottom seawater at the before-, late-, and after-bloom stages.…”

Green Tides Significantly Alter the Molecular Composition and Properties of Coastal DOC and Perform Dissolved Carbon Sequestration

“…1,2 More than five million tons (wet weight) of U. prolifera floated on the coastal ocean during the blooming period. 3 Such green tides have many adverse effects, e.g., the occurrence of hypoxia and acidification in the nearshore seawater, the generation of secondary microalgal blooms, 4 and causing a huge economic loss for local tourism and mariculture. 1 However, the massive macroalgae might also have a positive effect by helping to sequester carbon in the ocean.…”