“…YSBCW governs large‐scale deeper water (Zhang et al, ), which prevents the vertical transport of deeper nutrients because of a strong thermocline (Wei et al, ), resulting in low algal biomass and the domination of oligotrophic‐adapted groups (e.g., coccolithophores and picophytoplankton) in upper water (Le et al, ; Li et al, ; Liu, Huang, Huang, et al, ; Luan et al, ; Wu et al, ). By contrast, diatoms and dinoflagellates are dominant in eutrophic CDW and YSCCW and frequently bloom near the Changjiang Estuary (CJE; Bi et al, ; Jiang et al, ; Liu, Huang, Huang, et al, ; Liu, Huang, Huang, et al, ; Zhu et al, ). Therefore, the spatial distribution patterns of phytoplankton community in the SYS may be strongly structured by nutrients, water column stability (stratification), and turbidity (light) under water mass movement despite apparent seasonal variability.…”