Temporal and spatial variability in nitrogen uptake kinetics during harmful dinoflagellate blooms in the East China Sea

Recent insights about relationships between nutrient availability, forms, and stoichiometry, and the distribution, ecophysiology, and food web effects of pelagic and benthic Prorocentrum species

“…This species was first described by Lu and Gobel (2001), and was previously identified as P. dentatum (Lu et al, 2005). Its blooms were not reported until 1995 (Lu et al, 2005), but massive blooms up to 10,000 km 2 in areal extent have occurred in late spring virtually every year since, the bloom of 2005 was particularly well studied (Zhou et al, 2008;Li et al, 2009Li et al, , 2010Lu et al, 2011;Fig. 2A).…”

“…Kinetics of inorganic N and urea uptake have recently been measured for P. minimum, and P. donghaiense in both laboratory cultures and field bloom conditions (Fan et al, 2003a;Li et al, 2010Li et al, , 2011a. The data indicate that both species do not have high affinity for these N forms (Table 2).…”

Growth and competition of several harmful dinoflagellates under different nutrient and light conditions

“…DON may also represent an important N source for phytoplankton in eutrophic coastal waters (Bronk et al, 2004;Wiegner et al, 2006;Burkholder et al, 2008;Li et al, 2010). Urea has become a very important DON source because of its accelerated global use, which has increased more than 100-fold in the past 4 decades and contributes >50% of global nitrogenous fertilizer usage .…”

“…Another Prorocentrum species, Prorocentrum donghaiense, is a major bloom species near the Changjiang River estuary and in the coastal area of East China Sea. Large scale P. donghaiense blooms have been observed in those waters in the past two decades (Zhou et al, 2006;Li et al, 2009Li et al, , 2010.…”

“…For P. minimum, P. donghaiense and K. brevis, the N:P ratio may not only relate to the bloom distribution and biomass, but also may regulate dominant species due to their differential nutrient uptake rates and preferences (Fisher et al, 1992;Smayda, 2002;Heil et al, 2007;Li et al, 2009Li et al, , 2010Li et al, , 2011. In East China Sea, the P. donghaiense-dominated communities were observed to be associated with DIN:DIP ratios that were slightly higher than the Redfield ratio (16), while, in both East China Sea and southwest Florida shelf, the Karenia spp.-dominated communities were found in association with DIN:DIP ratios that were below the Redfield ratio, but high DON:DOP ratio (>20), suggesting that Karenia spp.…”