Spatial, seasonal and species variations of harmful algal blooms in the South Yellow Sea and East China Sea

Abstract

The occurrences of harmful algal blooms (HABs), in terms of frequency and area in the Chinese coastal waters, have been increasing since 1980s and caused considerable economic losses. In the present study, we have analyzed spatial and seasonal characteristics of HAB events in the southern Yellow Sea and East China Sea along Chinese coast from 1933 to 2004. With a total 435 HAB records, the most frequent HAB occurrence area (FHA) is off the Yangtze River mouth and another two FHA areas are located south of the Yangtze River estuary along about isobaths of 30-60 m coastal water in the East China Sea.

Jellyfish blooms in China: Dominant species, causes and consequences

“…For example, the population living in the coastal regions of China increased to 529 million in 2000 from 243 million in 1952 (National Census Reports of China, 2000). In recent years, the warning signs of ecological deterioration, such as algal blooms, fishery collapse, hypoxia and now jellyfish blooms have increased significantly in Chinese seas (Li et al, 2002;Tang et al, 2003Tang et al, , 2006Liu et al, 2009;Zhang et al, 2009).…”

The impacts of 2008 snowstorm in China on the ecological environments in the Northern South China Sea

“…The cause for Chla increase during and after the snowstorm in the study area, especially in coastal waters Nutrients abundance, especially N, P and Si, is one of the factors controlling the growth of phytoplankton in the upper layer of the ocean (Syrett 1953;Bongersch 1956;Foggge 1959;Lewinjc 1962;Brzezinskim 1990). Other factors include the light conditions (Gabric & Parslow 1989) and the water temperature (Eppley 1972;Raven & Geider 1988;Tang et al 2006;Hao et al 2007;Li 2013). These factors influence Chla content in water by changing phytoplankton growth, metabolism and other physiological activities.…”

“…Temperature higher than 15 C is suitable for the growth of many kinds of common phytoplankton, while the optimal temperature for growth is about 20-25 C (Behrenfeld et al 1997;Tang et al 2006;Chai et al 2009). SST did not decrease much in Bins 13, 14 and 16 because they are located near the LZS, where were influenced by the Kuroshio warm water westward flow (red arrows in Figure 10) to this sea area (about 119 E, 20 N) in winter (Metzger & Hurlburt 1996;Liang et al 2008, Hong et al 2011aChang et al 2009Chang et al , 2013Liao et al 2013).…”

Nutrient and chlorophyll a anomaly in red-tide periods of 2003–2008 in Sishili Bay, China

“…Anthropogenic nutrient loading from terrestrial systems usually causes eutrophication and increased occurrence of red tides. Indeed, red tides have become a serious ecological problem worldwide in recent years (Anderson, 1994(Anderson, , 1995Zhou et al, 2001;Sarkar, 2005), including in China (Tang et al, 2004(Tang et al, , 2006Yu et al, 2007aYu et al, , 2007bWang et al, 2008;Wei et al, 2008). Sishili Bay is one of the most important areas of aquiculture in north China, and the main aquiculture and tourism area for Yantai, a rapidly developing city in China.…”