Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2024, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (4): 98-111.doi: 10.11978/2023107CSTR: 32234.14.2023107

• Marine Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Zooplankton community in the coastal waters of eastern Guangdong under the influence of human activities and ocean currents

LIU Yuan1,2(), KE Zhixin1,3, LI Kaizhi1(), TAN Yehui1,2, LIANG Junce1,2, ZHOU Weihua1   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. Guangdong Provincial Observation and Research Station for Coastal Upwelling Ecosystem, Shantou 515041, China
  • Received:2023-07-30 Revised:2023-09-02 Online:2024-07-10 Published:2024-07-22
  • Supported by:
    Special Fund for Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province of China(2021B1212050023); Special Fund for Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province of China(2023B1212060047); National Natural Science Foundation of China(32171548); Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(2022A1515010656)

Abstract:

There are rich fishery resources and complicated hydrologic environment in the coastal waters of eastern Guangdong. In order to systematically improve the level of oceanic observation and the knowledge of ecological dynamic processes in the coastal waters of eastern Guangdong under the changing climate, a comprehensive investigation of ecological and environmental factors such as hydrodynamics, biology and chemistry during four seasons was carried out in May (spring), July (summer), October (autumn) 2022 and January 2023 (winter). Based on the taxonomic identification of zooplankton, the characteristics of community structure of zooplankton in the surveyed area were analyzed, and the effects of environmental factors on their spatial and temporal distribution were discussed. According to the environmental parameters, the survey area can be divided into the near-shore (mainly affected by human activities) and off-shore (mainly affected by ocean currents) areas, and the zooplankton were characterized by the seasonal and regional pattern. Seasonally, the species, biomass and abundance of zooplankton in spring and summer were higher than those in autumn and winter. Regionally, the species, biomass and abundance of zooplankton in the off-shore waters are generally higher than those in the near-shore waters. Moreover, there are differences in the contribution groups and dominant species to the total zooplankton abundance in different seasons in the off-shore waters. Although copepods and chaetognaths were the main groups of zooplankton, the abundance of planktonic larvae and fish eggs in spring was higher than in other seasons, and the peak value is concentrated in the southwestern Hanjiang Estuary, indicating that this surveyed area was still an important spawning ground in the coastal waters of eastern Guangdong. The increase in copepods species and abundance in summer is related to the high chlorophyll a concentration improved by coastal upwelling in eastern Guangdong. Warm-temperate species carried by Fujian and Zhejiang coastal currents in winter are the main contributors to zooplankton abundance. Although chlorophyll a concentrations are higher in the near-shore waters, zooplankton species, biomass and abundance are lower. Under the effect of anthropogenic activities and climate change, long-term systematic monitoring and analysis of the response of zooplankton to the dynamics of the marine environment are needed in the coastal waters of eastern Guangdong.

Key words: zooplankton, community structure, coastal upwelling, coastal current, northern South China Sea