Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2026, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (5): 199-208.doi: 10.11978/2025167CSTR: 32234.14.2025167

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Effects of vegetation restoration on the succession of bacterial and eukaryotic communities in coral sand beaches on tropical islands

WU Peng1,2,3(), YANG Xiyue1, LI Chunhou1, XIAO Yayuan1,2,3, ZHOU Weiwen4, CHENG Hao4, CUI Lei5, YIN Jianping4(), LIU Yong1,2,3()   

  1. 1 Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Exploitation & Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Guangdong Provincial Observation and Research Station for Ecosystem in the Pearl River Estuary/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fishery Ecology and Environment (South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences), Guangzhou 510300, China
    2 National Fishery Resources and Environment Dapeng Observation and Experimental Station (South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences), Shenzhen 518116, China
    3 Scientific Observation and Research Station of Xisha Island Reef Fishery Ecosystem of Hainan Province (Sanya Tropical Fisheries Research Institute), Sanya 572018, China
    4 State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
    5 Research Center for Harmful Algae and Marine Biology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
  • Received:2025-09-15 Revised:2025-10-25 Online:2026-09-10 Published:2026-10-13
  • Contact: YIN Jianping. email: yjp@scsio.ac.cn; LIU Yong. email: liuyong@scsfri.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022-36); Central Public-Interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, CAFS(2023TD16); Financial Fund of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, P. R. China(SYHZX2025); Financial Fund of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, P. R. China(NHZX2024)

Abstract:

Many coral islands in the Nansha Islands lack native vegetation. To build stable coral sand beaches, mangrove planting has been implemented as a restoration strategy. However, there is currently a lack of research on the succession of soil biological community structure during the vegetation restoration process. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to track changes in bacterial and eukaryotic communities in coral sand over the first year after mangrove establishment. The results showed that the dominant bacterial phyla were Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi, and numerous potentially novel bacterial species were detected. The dominant eukaryotic groups were Ciliophora, Nematoda, Stramenopiles, Bacillariophyta, and Rhizaria. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) showed that planting significantly altered both bacterial and eukaryotic community structures, with the shift in eukaryotes being more pronounced. The Shannon diversity index of bacteria increased markedly over time, whereas that of eukaryotes declined one year after planting. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed increasingly complex, predominantly positive, biotic interactions as restoration proceeded.

Key words: coral sand beach, mangrove plants, bacteria, eukaryotes, community structure, co-occurrence network

CLC Number: 

  • P735.124