Seasonal changes in benthic algal communities of the upper subtidal zone in Sanya Bay (Hainan Island, China)

Abstract

A floristic study of the marine plants and algae at Luhuitou reef, Sanya Bay, Hainan Island, China, was conducted during the rainy (October 2008 and November 2010) and dry seasons (April 2009 and February 2012). Specimens were collected in the upper subtidal zone (from 0.5 to 3 m depth at low tide). A total of 156 taxa were collected, including 143 macrophyte species (90%), 12 blue–green algal species (10%), and the seagrass, Thalassia hemprichii. The most diverse group was the Rhodophyta (79 taxa or 55%), followed by the Chlorophyta (38 taxa or 25%) and then the Phaeophyceae (26 taxa or 20%). In the upper subtidal zone, macroalgae formed two types of communities: polydominant communities of turf-forming algae and monodominant and bidominant communities of foliose or fleshy algae. Seasonal changes occurred in the dominant species, which appear to be caused by periodic annual events of thalli detachment and subsequent community succession. In spite of heavy pollution from dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus in Sanya Bay, the subtidal flora has not undergone any dramatic changes in species numbers or composition and is similar to that of unpolluted regions in the Indo-Pacific.

Macroalgal assemblage changes on coral reefs along a natural gradient from fish farms in southern Hainan Island

“…Freshly collected material was identified using monographic publications, floristic studies and systematic articles (Titlyanov et al, 2011b(Titlyanov et al, , 2012(Titlyanov et al, , 2014a. The systematics and nomenclature followed Guiry and Guiry (AlgaeBase, searched 2015).…”

The Significance of New Records of Benthic Red Algae (Rhodophyta) for Hainan Island (and China) between 1990 and 2016

“…Materials were identified by Xia and Bartsch in 1990-1994 and by Titlyanov in 2007-2009. Anatomical studies were made using slides prepared from pre-soaked Fresh and dried specimens were identified by Titlyanova and Titlyanov using monographic publications, floristic studies, and systematic articles cited in previous publications [13,14,16,17]. The systematics and nomenclature followed [21].…”

“…This collection has been deposited in the herbarium of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [12]. All records based on these collections were considered in our previous papers [13][14][15][16][17][18]. In this early collection (EC), a total of 310 macroalgal taxa and their forms were found, of which 178 species (57%) were Rhodophyta (Rh), 64 (21%) Phaeophyceae (Ph), and 68 (22%) Chlorophyta (Ch).…”

“…A third sampling was performed during 2008-2016 (LC) (Figure 1). Some of the results of this algal inventory have also been published [13][14][15]17,19,20], with 301 species being recorded including 163 (54%) Rhodophyta, 50 (17%) Phaeophyceae, and 88 (29%) Chlorophyta. This further paper presents an annotated list of new findings of red algae for Hainan Island made during the course of this study.…”

Can private management compensate the ineffective marine reserves in China?

“…Sedimentation from coastal development around Sanya is a major human disturbance to coral reefs . Sewage discharge and run-off from aquaculture farms leads to eutrophication, resulting in algal blooms on the reefs (Tytlyanov et al 2014). Even with protection from fishing, such conditions present a challenge for reef fishes that can be difficult to recover from.…”