Both heat and momentum fluxes from three sets of data sources are compared in this study, and are used as the up-per boundary condition of a global oceanic general circulation model (OGCM) with which sensitivity experiments to these fluxes are conducted. Through comparison among numerical sensitivity experiments, the authors evaluate the model’s ability in simulating seasonal cycle of the equatorial Indian and Pacific Ocean warm pool, and explore its sensitivity to surface heat and momentum forcing. Firstly, numerical simulations show that the ocean model can reproduce realistic seasonal cycle of the extension and magnitude of the warm pool in the equatorial western Pacific and Indian oceans and the difference in the sea-sonal cycle between these two ocean basins. Increased vertical resolution in the upper model ocean can improve effectively the simulated seasonal cycle of surface mixed layer depth. Secondly, the simulated seasonal cycle of the warm pool basically de-pends on both seasonal cycle of heat fluxes and mixed layer depth, but the simulations can hardly reflect the impact from the vertical entrainment and turbulent mixing, which is probably resulted from coarse temporal resolution in the external forcing fields; as a result, some important synoptic processes are not included in turbulent mixing, thus it is necessary to increase the temporal resolution of the external forcing in future. Finally, inter-comparison among the numerical experiments forced with different heat and momentum fluxes shows that the equatorial Indian Ocean warm pool is sensitive to differences in both the heat and mo-mentum fluxes, but the equatorial western Pacific Ocean warm pool is only sensitive to the differences in the heat fluxes.

The Luzon Strait is located between Taiwan and Luzon islands, connecting the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. The characteristics of water mass distribution and its seasonal variation in this region were discussed using the Argo temperature and salinity data from February 2003 to April 2009. The analysis suggested that in the area of 120.5º?122.75ºE and 19º?23ºN the water mass has the properties between the South China Sea Water and the North Pacific Water; in the area south of 19ºN, the water exchange is not significant. The intrusion of the North Pacific Tropical Water (NPTW) and the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) into the South China Sea is relatively weak in summer. The intrusion of the NPTW is strengthened in fall and winter. When the northeasterly monsoon becomes fully developed, the intrusion reaches its most. However, there is no evidence of the NPIW water flowing into the South China Sea. It should be pointed that there is no indication that the NPIW enters the South China Sea in any seasons, while the intermediate water from the South China Sea can flow into the Pacific through the Luzon Strait, reaching its maximum strength in fall and winter.

Based on the data observed during the summer and winter cruises in 2006, the authors analyze the distributions of temperature and salinity off the Pearl River Estuary, the characteristics of thermocline, halocline and pycnocline as well as their relations to upwelling, mesoscale eddies and currents. The results show that: (1) strong thermocline, pycnocline and halocline exist in summer and are strongly affected by the diluted water, upwelling and eddies; in particular, the spreading of the diluted water leads to the formation of double thermocline and barrier layer in some waters; (2) in winter, sea water mixes well in the shallow shelf, while there exists weak thermocline at the shelf slope.

Using the simple ocean data assimilation (SODA) data from 1967 to 2001, this study revealed the upper level salin-ity distribution in the South China Sea (SCS) and its response to the activity and intensity of the SCS monsoon. The results indicate that with the onset of the SCS monsoon, the high-salinity tongue in the northern and southern SCS weaken and retreat eastward, the salinity decreases in the northern and eastern SCS but increases in the southern SCS. In the strong monsoon years, the anomalous salinity is negative in the coastal sea area and the eastern SCS, but negative in the southern SCS. In the weak monsoon years, the anomalous pattern of salinity is the opposite. The upper level salinity’s response to the activity and intensity of the SCS monsoon in the SCS is closely related to the net freshwater flux, wind stress, and Ekman pumping.

Taiwan Island is at the joint of Eurasian Continent and Pacific Plate, and is always threatened by typhoons and northeasterly winds, which may cause enormous loss of human life and property every year. Therefore it is necessary to de-velop a coastal sea-state monitoring system. The COMC (Coastal Ocean Monitoring Center, National Cheng Kung University) built the Taiwan coastal sea-state monitoring system, which is modern and self-sufficient, consisting of moored buoy, pile station, tide station, coastal weather station, and radar monitoring station. To assure the data quality, Data Quality Check Pro-cedure and Standard Operation Procedure were developed by the COMC. For data analysis, some new methods are introduced to make more detailed analysis, such as EMD (empirical mode decomposition) method that is used in the analysis of storm surge water level, wavelet transform that is used to discuss the near-shore wave characteristics from X-band radar images, and data assimilation technique that is applied in wave nowcast operation. The coastal sea-state monitoring system has a great potential in providing ocean information to serve the society.

The results of seismic exploration and drilling indicate that Mesozoic exists in the northern South China Sea (SCS). The sedimentary models of Mesozoic and the facieses of seismic are different from west to east across the northern SCS. According to the seismic profiles, the Mesozoic sedimentary distribution in the northeast part of the SCS has double-layer structure, but the Mesozoic distribution in the northwest part of the SCS has mono-layer structure. In the northeast part of the SCS, Mesozoic strata are com-posed of Jurassic marine sediments and Cretaceous continental sediments; in contrast, in the northwest part of the SCS, Mesozoic strata are only composed of Cretaceous continental sediments. According to the direction of seawater-intrusion, the sedimentary en-vironment of Mesozoic was correlated to paleo-Pacific other than Tethys. During Jurassic, paleo-Pacific covered the east of the Pearl River Mouth Basin and Taixinan Basin. From early to late Jurassic, the area of marine basin became less. During Cretaceous, the northern part of the SCS uplifted as a whole, except the east of the Taixinan Basin. During this period, small faulted basins were de-veloped and accommodated continental sediments. The northern South China Sea located in the junction area of Tethys tectonic do-main and the Pacific tectonic domain during Mesozoic; the sedimentary model clears further the control effect of Pacific Ocean structural domain to South China Sea. The northeast part of South China Sea would be beneficial areas for oil and gas exploration.

Application of 3-D seismic and OBS exploration has been ever-increasing in the marine survey on natural gas hy-drate. The seismic source is one of determining factors in the acquisition, which is related to the quality of seismic data(P-wave and converted S-wave) acquired. The high quality data help to reveal the feature of velocity anomaly of strata bearing gas hydrate. By taking firing bandwidth, output and bubble effect into integrated consideration, a new type of GI gun point source was designed and then applied in the investigation on gas hydrate. Tests were conducted in northern of the South China Sea repeatedly over time from 2006 to 2009. The results indicated the application of new point source can enhance the penetrating capability of seismic P-wave and can improve the quality of P-wave and converted S-wave that OBS acquired.

Ray tracing method of basing on the subsurface geology model is very important for defining some parameters during marine seismic exploration. The signal reflected from underground interface can be directly viewed when different emission locations are chosen. Thus the effect of different seismic survey geometry on seismic data acquisition can be under-stood. It is also very significant for using multi-waves both to reveal the internal velocity structure of gas hydrates ores and enhance the resolution of gas hydrates bearing formations. By analyzing the application of ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) on the gas hydrate exploration abroad, the method of ray tracing was introduced on the layout design of OBS in this paper; PS wave was recorded in the sea test, which gives satisfied application result.

In a sea area of China, the “single source-single streamer quasi-three dimensional seismic survey” method was ap-plied in the gas-hydrate investigation, and a satisfying three-dimensional (3D) image was obtained. The bin parameter is one of the important parameters that can influence the 3D imaging. According to the result of data, if a streamer length of 2400m (192 channels) is fixed, the best optimization bin size (transverse) should be 50m and processing bin should be half of the origi-nal acquisition size, i.e., 12.5m?25m, which can take into account of the authenticity and continuity of strata. A good quality of the quasi-3D seismic image can then be obtained.

Marine enteral nutrition, as a new type of enteral nutrition, has shown tremendous clinical values and market de-velopment prospects. In the meantime, the safety of food and drug has become a critical issue and drawn intensive attention. The study on enteral nutrition is therefore very urgent. The status of safety research on the bases of clinical enteral nutrition in China and abroad is summarized. Some hazardous substances in the bases, including heavy metals, marine bio-toxins, PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, etc., were analysed in this study. Some controlling technologies and removal methods were dis-cussed. This research will provide a reference to the choices of safe bases, especially during the preparing of the safe, efficient, and high-quality enteral nutrition.

In this study, strain SCSIO-8, an isolated picophytoplankton was obtained from the continental shelf of the northern South China Sea. Studies were carried out on its growth, morphological structure, physiological and biochemical characteris-tics and taxonomic identification. The results indicate that SCSIO-8 was a free unicellular alga without flagellate, (2.08±0.28)×(1.78±0.09)µm in size, and no pyrenoid, 1 chloroplast, 1 mitochondria, 1 nucleus, and many starch granules were observed in its cell. It was revealed that SCSIO-8 reproduced through autosporation. Results also indicate that SCSIO-8 was able to grow in a wide range of salinity from 0 to 38‰ at least, and adapted rapidly to the mutual switch between seawater and freshwater. HPLC chromatogram analysis showed that the main photosynthetic pigments of SCSIO-8 were chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and several carotenoids including cis- and trans-Violaxanthin, Lutein, β-carotene, etc.18S rDNA region of SCSIO-8 genome DNA was sequenced and blasted in GenBank. The picophytoplankton strain could be identified as Pi-cochlorum sp. SCSIO-8 through integrated analysis of its morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular charac-teristics.

Studies on karyotype, Ag-NORs, and C-banding of Lutjanus sebae were performed. The chromosomes were re-ceived from the head kidney by using a method of injecting with PHA and colchicines, air drying, and Giemsa staining. The results were as follows. 1) The karyotypic formula of L.sebae was 2n=48t, NF=48. Meanwhile, a pair of chromosomes, with secondary constriction near the centromere, was found on chromosome 1. 2) The Ag-NORs polymorphisms were individually specific in this fish. The silver staining pots were 1-4, and the number of Ag-NORs was mainly 2 (79%). A pair of nucleolar organizer regions was observed on the secondary constriction of chromosome 1, and no Ag-NORs combination was found. 3) Centromeres of most chromosomes were C-bandings positive, and heterochromatin was detected at the satellite zone of chro-mosome 1. Thus, we discussed the evolution of karyotype, the developing mechanism of Ag-NORs, and C-bandings for fish. The phylogenetic condition of L. sebae was evaluated as well.

The distribution characteristics of bacterioplankton in the Dapeng Bay were investigated by fluorescence micros-copy over an annual cycle. The relationships of bacterial abundance with temperature, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, am-monium salt, nitrate, and phosphate were discussed. The results show that the bacterioplankton abundance throughout the year varied from 1.40×108 cells L?1 to 24.43×108 cells L?1. The level of bacteria abundance in each season was as follows: sum-mer>spring>autumn>winter. The horizontal distribution of bacterioplankton showed a higher inshore, gradually reduced off-shore, and a gradually reducing characteristic from the top to the bay mouth. Excluding summer, temperature had a significant correlation with bacterioplankton abundance (P<0.05). Bacterioplankton abundance and dissolved oxygen were negatively correlated throughout the year. Excluding spring, chlorophyll-a had a significant correlation with bacterioplankton abundance (P<0.01) and played a significant role in the control of bacterioplankton. Among the inorganic nutrients, ammonia and phos-phate salt were the dominant factors in controlling bacterioplankton; both had a significant correlation with bacterioplankton abundance (P<0.01). In winter, nitrate regulated the bacterioplankton.

The effect of various sulphur concentrations on the growth of Chlorella zofingiensis and the astaxanthin accumula-tion in its heterotrophic culture were investigated. The results indicated that low sulphur concentration favoured rapid and significant astaxanthin accumulation while the biomass enhancement and cell division were inhibited severely. The addition of 3μmol•L?1 sulphur to the culture led to a maximum astaxanthin content of 1.19mg•g?1, increased by 40.68% compared with the 300μmol•L?1 sulphur cultures. The highest yield of astaxanthin was 9.99mg•L?1, which was obtained in the medium containing 3000μmol•L?1 sulphur on Day 14. The addition of 3000μmol•L?1 sulphur to the culture enhanced the biomass and yield of an-taxanthin compared with the 300μmol•L?1 sulphur cultures in which the protein content decreased in the later stage. To attain the maximum biomass in heterotrophic culture, the 300μmol•L?1 sulphur concentration could be the minimum limit for glucose utilization in batch culture. The results indicated that the productivity of the antaxanthin and biomass could be enhanced by application of higher concentration of sulphur in the industrial production through glucose fed-batch fermentation.

The ultrastructural changes of the germ cells and sperm during spermatogenesis of Girella leonina were observed by transmission electronic microscope. The results are as follows. (1) The spermatogenesis of Girella leonina included six stages: primary spermatogonium, secondary spermatogonium, primary spermatocyte, secondary spermatocyte, spermatid, and sperm. These stages can be divided into three periods (before, during, and after) when the spermatid differentiated into sperm. (2) A primary spermatogonium was the largest of various stages of germ cells, and its cell was about 10.00μm × 6.40μm and the nuclear counted 8.80μm×5.80μm. The spermatid was the smallest, and its cell was about 3.20μm × 2.60μm and the nuclear counted 2.80μm×2.50μm. With spermatogenic cells continued to divide and mature, their size gradually reduced, the nuclear chromatin tended to concentrate, electron density increased, extent of staining deepened, and nuclear position, nucleolus, mi-tochondria also correspondingly changed. (3) Mitochondria were the main organelles in the germ cell, which gradually reduced the number in the process of spermatogenesis. At last, there were only four mitochondria in the mature sperm. On the contrary, the volume of mitochondria had kept increasing, and its cristae became clearer and longer. (4) As most kinds of teleostean, each sperm of Girella leonine consisted of a head without an acrosome, a midpiece, and a long tail that contains the lateral fins and a conventional “9 + 2” axoneme pattern.

A sediment trap study was conducted in shellfish culture area and caged fish area in Dapeng-Ao area of the Daya Bay in the South China Sea from March 2005 to April 2006. Cyst flux, water temperature, salinity and nutrient concentrations were investigated during the survey in order to understand the characteristics of cyst formation and the effects of environmental factors on encystment in subtropic sea areas. Twenty-seven cyst types were identified during one-year trap study. Cysts of autotrophic dinoflagellates dominated the cyst assemblages, and Scrippsiella trochoidea was the preponderant cyst type. The cyst composition revealed that the pollution of Dapeng-Ao was mainly caused by aquacultural and domestic pollution. Cyst fluxes showed no seasonal patterns, with the annual average of 1.07×105cysts•m?2 d?1. Both high temperature and low temperature stimulated the cyst formation. Furthermore, low nitrogen level accelerated encystment. A winter peak of cyst flux of Alexandrium was first observed in this sea region during our study, with the maximum of 4.26×105 cysts•(m2•d)?1. The results suggest that cooling water discharged by the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station and consequential increasing of winter water temperature, might have some impacts on the nearby environment.

The optimal media was selected by a media choosing experiment on growth of toxic marine dinoflagellate Coolia monotis isolated from tropic coral reef waters around Sanya, Hainan Island. Based on the result, the influence of different concentrations of three trace elements, Fe, Mn, and Co, on growth and toxin-producing of C. monotis were studied by an or-thogonal experiment. Our results show that the optimal media is K series among Erd, f/2, GP, and K media. The maximum average growth rate exhibits under the concentrations of 2?10?5mol•L?1, 1?10?6mol•L?1, and 5?10?7mol•L?1 for Fe, Co, and Mn, respectively. When concentrations were 5?10?6mol•L?1 for Fe, 1?10?7mol•L?1 for Co, and 2?10?6mol•L?1 for Mn, C. monotis presented the strongest toxicity.

The objective is to study the compounds from the marine sponge Haliclona sp. The compounds were isolated and purified by various column chromatography methods, and their structures were identified by physico-chemical properties and spectral analysis. Nine compounds were isolated and identified as Cetyl ethers of glycerol (1), Dodecanoic acid (2), 2'-deoxyadenosin (3), Uridine (4), 2'-deoxyuridine (5), 2'-deoxythymidine (6), α-ethyl glucoside (7), Tyramine (8), Isopen-tylamine (9). Note that compounds 4, 5, 7, and 9 were isolated from marine sponge Haliclona sp. for the first time.

Seven pregnane steroids were isolated from the petroleum ether extracts of a South China Sea gorgonian Menella sp. collected in the Sanya Bay. By means of spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literatures, their structures were identi-fied as 3α-hydroxy-5β-pregnan-20-one (1), 3β-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one (2), 3β-hydroxy-pregnan-5-en-20-one (3), 5β-pregnan-3, 20-dione (4), 5α-pregnan-3, 20-dione (5), pregnan-4-en-3, 20-dione (6), and pregnan-1, 4-dien-3, 20-dione (7), respectively. All compounds except compound 2 were isolated from this genus for the first time, and the NMR data of com-pound 7 was reported for the first time.

We investigated the abundance and species composition of phytoplankton community in the northern South China Sea (110°－120°E, 18°－23°N) from 10th to 29th August 2007, using 208 samples taken from 41 sampling stations. A total of 216 species belonging to 80 genera of 5 classes were identified. Diatoms contributed to 64.81% of the total phytoplankton species number and 89.11% of the total phytoplankton cell abundance; followed by dinoflagellates, which accounted for 30.56% of total phytoplankton species number and 10.62% of the total phytoplankton cell abundance. The dominant species were Thalassiosira sp., Thalassionema nitzschioides, Skeletonema costatum, Prorocentrum minimum and Gymnodinium sp.. Trichodesmium erythraeum that belonged to Cyanophyta was also commonly found at many survey stations. High phyto-plankton cell abundance was located in the Pearl River Estuary and in Taiwan Shoal. The horizontal distribution pattern of phytoplankton abundance was different in the surface and sub-surface waters. In the surface water, the average abundance of phytoplankton was 25.21×103cells•L?1 with a high value near the Pear River Estuary; while in the sub-surface water, the aver-age abundance was 9×103cells•L?1 with a high value in the Taiwan Shoal. On the whole, phytoplankton abundance was lower at deep-water stations (>200m) than at shallow-water stations (<200m). In general, the vertical profiles showed that total phytoplankton abundance presented a peak at 10m and then decreased with increasing water depth. The vertical distribution patterns of phytoplankton abundance also appeared to be different between deep-water and shallow-water stations. Diatoms abundance decreased with increasing water depth at the shallow-water stations, but formed a maximum peak at sub-surface (75m) of the deep-water stations; dinoflagellates abundance significantly decreased with increasing water depth, but evenly distributed in the water above 75m at the deep-water stations. The ratios of diatom to dinoflagellates showed a decline ten-dency approaching to the pelagic region. Higher productivity and phytoplankton abundance regions corresponded with a larger ratio of diatom to dinoflagellates. At the survey stations, the average Shannon-Wiener diversity index of phytoplankton com-munity was 2.8 in the surface water and 3.0 in the sub-surface water. High phytoplankton biodiversity located in the Pearl River Estuary and the coasts of Guangdong and Hainan provinces. The diversity of phytoplankton at the shallow stations was far enriched than that at the deep-water stations.

Fatty acid (FA) composition of ovary, midgut gland and muscle of wild female Penaeus monodon from the northern South China Sea in different stages of ovary development was determined. Results showed that the main FAs were 16:0, 16:1n-7, 18:0, 18:1n-9, 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid, ARA), 20:5n-3(eicosapntemacnioc acid, EPA) and 22:6n-3 (docosahex-aenoic acid, DHA). During sexual maturation, the percentage of 16:0 and total saturated FAs (saturation fatty acid, ∑SFA) in midgut gland increased fluctuantly. The percentage of 12:0, 14:0, 16:0, 18:0, 20:0 and ∑SFA in ovary increased (except for 22:0), and the highest percentage presented in Stage V and recovered to the level of immature stage after spawning. The per-centage of 14:0, 16:0, 18:0, 20:0 and ∑SFA in muscle decreased from Stage I to Stage IV or V, and increased after spawning. During sexual maturation, the percentage of 16:1n-7, 18:1n-9 and ∑MUFA (mono unsaturation fatty acid) in midgut gland, ovary, and muscle increased fluctuantly, and the highest percentage presented in Stage V. The percentage of 18: 2n-6, 20:4n-6 (ARA) and n-6 FA increased from Stage I to Stage III and decreased to the lowest level in Stage V. The percentage of 20:5n-3(EPA), 22:6n-3(DHA) and n-3 FA increased from Stage I to Stage III, decreased to the lowest level in Stage VI (except for EPA and n-3 FA), and decreased to the lowest level in Stage IV or V and increased after spawning. The ratios of DHA/EPA, n-3/n-6, and ∑PUFA (poly unsaturation fatty acid)/SFA increased fluctuantly from Stage I to Stage III or IV and decreased to the lowest level in Stage VI or recovered to the level of immature stage (Stage I) after spawning. The ratios of DHA/EPA, ∑n-3/n-6, and ∑PUFA/SFA in midgut gland were 0.5-1, 0.8-1.5, 0.29-0.53, respectively. Our results showed that the FA com-position in tissues of wild P. monodon broodstocks presented the balance between n-3 and n-6 FA families, ∑PUFA and ∑SFA, and EPA and DHA, and the ratio of ∑SFA:∑MUFA:∑PUFA was 35%:30%:35%. These results provide reference for making up the artificial diets for P. monodon broodstocks.

An experiment was conducted to determine effects of different salinities (1‰, 5‰, 10‰, 15‰, 20‰, 25‰, 30‰, 35‰, 40‰) on growth rates of two full-sib families of Litopenaeus vannamei. The results suggested that salinity has different effects on the two families. For family B03, no obvious differences in body length and body weight existed in salinity range from 10‰ to 40‰. The growth of family B08 changed obviously with salinity, which increased with salinity in the range of 1‰ to 15‰ but decreased when salinity varied from 15‰ to 40‰. The mean survival rate of family B03 was higher than that of family B08. Both families did not show good tolerance to salinity between 1‰ and 5‰. Our findings provide evidence for the selective breeding of new line of L. vannamei.

Macrobrachium asperulum is one of the major freshwater prawn species consumed by residents in Taiwan, China, and therefore is potentially valuable for aquaculture. However, little is known about its reproductive biology. The objective of the present study was to provide a preliminary characterization of the histological structure of the ovary throughout the repro-ductive cycle. Adult M. asperulum was collected in the River Houlong in Miaoli County of Central Taiwan seasonally during December 2007 and September 2008, which represented four seasons of winter, spring, summer and autumn. After sexual de-termination, female M. asperulum was sampled and followed by recording of gravid rate, body weight, and ovarian weight, as well as by determination of gonadosomatic index (GSI) value. Gonadal tissue section was then immediately prepared for his-tological study. The results showed that the highest GSI value was observed in spring while the lowest in winter. The gravid rate of the female prawn reached a maximum of 79.17% in autumn and then dropped sharply in winter. In addition, our results of histological study revealed that the germ cells of M. asperulum could be classified into four different cell types, including oogonia, primary oocytes, secondary oocytes, and mature oocytes, based on differences of size and morphology of cell, chro-matin patterns, and the amounts of lipid droplet and yolk granule. Furthermore, according to the number and type of predomi-nant germ cells presented, the ovarian cycle could be clearly divided into six stages as follows: Stages I and II were prolifera-tive and previtellogenic stages; Stages III and IV were endogenous and exogenous vitellogenic stages; and Stages V and VI were mature and spawn stages.

South East Asia is the center of farmed shrimp, and China tops the shrimp production. Cultured shrimp species has changed gradually in South East Asia, and white shrimp becomes the most important farmed shrimp species in the world. Production of white shrimp reached 76% of the total farmed production in 2006, while it was only 62% in 2004. However, production of black tiger shrimp has increased in India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, for their bigger size harvested in extensive culture system. In the USA and Japan, the supply of shrimp surpassed the demand, resulting in gradually decreased market price. There is no way to stabilize the price unless bigger size shrimp produced at right seasons is encouraged as in Vietnam. In super intensive white shrimp culture system, production of over 40t•hm?2 per crop can be achieved. White shrimp can tolerate very low salinity water, and many freshwater areas have been converted into shrimp ponds. Finally, some suggestions for shrimp culture development are put forward in this paper.

Mass coral bleaching and decreased calcification triggered by global warming have seriously threatened the coral reef ecosystems worldwide. Relative high-latitude coral communities may have the potential to act as regions of refugia for many coral species in the face of future global warming. Skeletal parameters (growth rate, density and calcification) of a 46-yr-long (1962-2007) Porites coral were analyzed, in order to investigate the responses of coral calcification (carbonate depositional processes) in high-latitude regions to increasing sea surface temperature (SST) associated with global warming and anthropogenic thermal discharge. Results showed that annual-mean growth rate, density and calcification were 0.97 cm•yr-1 (0.41?1.32 cm•yr-1), 1.45 g•cm-3 (1.17-1.65 g•cm-3) and 1.40 g•(cm2•yr)-1 [0.59?1.93 g•(cm2•yr)-1], respectively. SST is the major control effect of coral growth in this area. At the initial stage of global warming (1962?1993), increased SST al-leviated seasonal low temperature stress and promoted coral calcification. When SST increased continuously combined with nuclear power stations operation in Daya Bay, however, synthesized high SST in summer stressed coral skeletogenesis, and caused decreased growth and calcification rates after 1993, as well as relatively low levels of growth and calcification rates during 1997-2001 and 2006. Therefore, global warming, at least in the beginning, promoted coral calcification and reef development at high-latitude areas, whereas mass coral bleaching caused by continuously increasing SST, ENSO events and human activates, may happen in the future.

A method of successive image quadrat has characteristics of high spatial resolution, comparing with a conventional method of line intercept transect. This study investigated stony coral covers of five transects perpendicular to the coastline and two transects parallel to the coastline over the reef slope of Yongxing Island, one of the Xisha Islands, in July 2008 using the successive image quadrat method. The results reveal an evident spatial difference of cover rate of the reef slope, which was distributed widely with high cover rates along the transects over the northern, northwestern, and eastern slopes and scattered rarely with low cover rates along the transects over the western and southwestern slopes. Along the transects over the northern, northwestern, and eastern slopes corals reduced obviously along the slopes, showing relatively high abundance with high cover rate in the areas of upper slopes over 30?50 m and shallower than 5?6 m and less abundance with low cover rate in the areas of lower slope below 50 m and deeper than 6 m. Moreover, coral bleaching caused by Acanthaster planci and coral black disease caused by Terpios hoshinota were found along the transects of the northern and northwestern slopes, which reduced the coral cover rates by a certain amount. The decline of coral cover and formation of spatial variation pattern on Yongxing Island are related primarily to the increasing human impact and the excessive exploitation of the reef.

The coral reef assemblage and spatial differentiation regularity are two important aspects for research of coral reef ecosystems. A study on the relationship between waves and spatial distribution regularities of corals has an important reference value for studying succession rules and also for the protection and recovery of coral reef ecosystems. In this study, the spatial differentiation regularity of coral reef at the seashore of Changqi was examined by screening coral reef assemblage. The au-thors studied the current velocity and wave energy, and discussed their impacts on coral reef assemblage and spatial differen-tiation regularity. The results show that distribution of corals increased first and then decreased based on water depth. The emergence of different coral peak values varied according to the wave features at different water depths. Dominance of dif-ferent corals also differed according to water depths.

Through the resource survey of coral reef in the northern South China Sea, the authors systematically analyzed the similarity of different coral reef communities and corals of different regional and reproductive characteristics. The authors estimated the path of supplementary source of coral larvae around the Leizhou Peninsula. Through the analysis of many hy-drological data of the northern South China Sea, numerical model, and the Lagrangian trajectory equations, the authors found the transport path of coral larvae from Xisha Archipelago to the Leizhou Peninsula in March to June, which confirmed our hypothesis. The authors answered the questions of where the coral is from and why the coral reef ecosystem of the Leizhou Peninsula is declining. At the same time, they proposed a new coral reef management concept, under which better protection of coral reef resources would be possible.

Global warming and abnormal high temperature cause coral-zooxanthellae symbiosis collapse and significant loss of zooxanthellae (coral bleaching), and further lead to degradation of coral reef ecosystems. In this study, the authors collected six species of corals from the Luhuitou fringing reef in Sanya, and designed a mesocosm experiment that those corals were cultured under a high temperature stress, for investigating the diversity of tolerance among different coral symbiosis at cellular level. The results are as follows. The diversity of tolerance among different coral species under acute thermal stresses was related to their morphologies: branching corals showed the lowest tolerance in thermal stress, while the foliose and massive corals showed stronger tolerance, which was similar to the result in the field monitoring. Different coral species showed different ways of zooxanthellae loss under thermal stresses: zooxanthellae discharging continuously, like Pocillopora damicornis; zooxanthellae discharging partly and followed by coral tissues containing zooxanthellae separating from skeletons, like Acropora hyacinthus and Acropora brueggemanni; the residual zooxanthellae in coral tissues using mitotic proliferation to replenish their numbers quickly, like Pavona decussate; cell necrosis of zooxanthellae in coral tissues, like Porites lutea. This study confirmed that the role of coral host and zooxanthellae should be considered simultaneously in further studies of coral responses to global warming.

The densities of symbiotic zooxanthellae from 170 coral samples (with twenty-three species, thirteen genus, and eight families) collected during different seasons in Daya Bay, northern South China Sea, were analyzed in order to investigate seasonal variation of zooxanthellae density and its relationship to coral bleaching. The results showed that the density of zooxanthellae in all coral species had significant seasonal characters, with lower density in summer and proximately 2-fold higher density in winter. Coral symbiotic zooxanthellae density was mainly affected by seasonal fluctuation of sea surface temperature (SST) and solar radiation. It was speculated that coral bleaching (hot bleaching in summer) be the cause of the appearance features of coral when zooxanthellae density was reduced to a certain lower threshold, whereas coral cold bleach-ing happened in winter was associated with mortality that corals were directly killed by extremely low SST. High levels of zooxanthellae density in winter probably play an important role in protecting coral from low SST stress.

Using pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) chlorophyll fluorescence techniques, the authors monitored the photo-chemical efficiency of symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) within the tissues of three species of reef-building corals in a Sanya fringing reef, and analyzed their response to diurnal irradiance variations. The results indicate that: 1) Fv/Fm′, an indicator of actual photochemical efficiency, showed clear diurnal variations, with high values occurring in the morning and evening when solar radiation was weak and low values occurring in the noon matching with strong solar radiation. Regression analysis suggests that the Fv/Fm′ values were negatively corelated to both radiation and water temperature, and were more likely adjusted by solar radiation. 2)Although sunlight is essential for the photosynthesis of symbiotic algae, a threshold was found between the sunshine intensity and photosynthetic efficiency. When the photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) was lower than 250µmol•(m2•s)-1, the Fv/Fm′ increased with the increasing of PAR; while Fv/Fm′ decreased with the increasing of PAR when PAR was higher than 250µmol•(m2•s)-1. 3) Among the three investigated corals, Goniastrea aspera showed smaller amplitude of daily Fv/Fm′ variations than that of Porites lutea and Montipora digitata, which had similar Fv/Fm′ variations to each other.

The symbiotic association between corals and Symbiodinium is a major contributing factor in the success of coral reef ecosystem with high biodiversity. Under stressful environmental conditions, such as abnormally high water temperatures, this symbiosis can break down and the zooxanthellae are lost in a process known as “bleaching”, which can cause the death of corals if stresses are severe or persistent. Reef-building corals have diverse colors even in different colonies within the same species, and the color plays a key role in acclimation of coral to environment. Galaxea fascicularis is a common reef-building coral in the Indo-Pacific area, including the coral reef areas in Sanya, Hainan Island, and displays a variety colors even with different colonies. The authors used PCR-RFLP to investigate whether or not variation in color is associated with Symbiodin-ium differentiation. The results reveal that G. fascicularis can be associated with Symbiodinium clade C and D either individu-ally or simultaneously. In addition, there is no correlation between the composition of Symbiodinium and the color morphs of the coral G. fascicularis. These results highlight the complexity of coral color such as GFP-like protein of coral and symbiont pigments, and need further research.

Coral reefs are among the most productive and diverse ecosystem on Earth and provide a multitude of valuable ecosystem services. However, such a valuable ecosystem is in severe decline globally because of climate warming and increase of anthropogenic activities. A few studies have demonstrated that human-induced metal pollution has vital effects on reef cor-als by stressing their symbiotic zooxanthellae growth. For the purpose of understanding the symbiotic zooxanthellae respond-ing to metals, we carried on a 72h-expermental study by exposing reef corals to different levels of copper (Cu) concentrations, observed corals’ responses to Cu pollution, and measured the zooxanthellae densities. The results show that: (1) along with the increase of copper concentration in the seawater, the coral zooxanthellae density increases at first and then continuously de-crease, until bleached; (2) high Cu2+ concentration has severe impact on the survival of reef corals and massive Porites would die shortly after exposing to an extremely high level (40.7?g•L?1) of Cu2+; and (3) the Cu2+ injured corals stimulated slime secretion at first, and then their tentacle lost activity and appeared bleaching. This study suggests copper pollution has sig-nificant impact on the survival of reef corals.

Sexual reproduction of hermatypic corals is one of the approaches for coral reef restoration. This study is about sexual reproduction actions and larvae development of hermatypic corals, and it is useful for artificial coral ecosystem resto-ration. Corals in Luhuitou Sanya spawned between the end of March and mid April. Eggs of Montipora turgescens and Acro-pora robusta were collected when they were spawned in seawater during the night of 11th April. The development of embryos of both species was recorded. Zygotes had cleavaged to morulas, then developed to prawn-chip shape, and then blastulae. Next, blastulae invaginated, which made blastulae plate-like shape, and then the edge bent to center, which changed blastulae to bowl-like shape. Ciliated gastrulae were formed before they became elliptic or rounded planulae. Planulae developed to coral larvae with tentacles after they settled on substrata. Zygotes of M. turgescens had fulvous zooxanthellae while they were spawned. However, zygotes of A. robusta did not have zooxanthella as they were ejected, so they took free-living zooxanthel-lae from seawater during the development.

Coral reefs are precious marine resources. They provide people with various ecosystem goods and services. Marine ecological footprint was applied in the evaluation of the sustainable utilization of coral reef resources in Sanya, Hainan Island. The marine ecological footprints were mainly composed of local consumption, tourists’ consumption, and trade, among others. The utilization of coral reef resources in Sanya was non-sustainable because its marine ecological footprint exceeded its eco-logical capacity. Basing on the increasing trend of marine ecological footprint and declining of coral reef, it is urgent to broaden fishing areas, adjust fishery structure, develop eco-tourism, and take some effective measures for management. Scien-tific and rational exploitations are the right way to promote the sustainable use of coral reef resources.

 An evaluation index system and method are built for mangrove health in Hainan province’s Dongzhaigang, Sanyahe, and Qingmeigang reserves. Evaluation criteria and rating are also set up to look into the health conditions of the mangrove community. The results show the health indices of the mangrove community in the above-mentioned three areas are 0.8640, 0.4798, and 0.5791, which fall into the ranks of Ⅰ-grade (healthy), Ⅲ-grade (sub-healthy), and Ⅱ-grade (moderate healthy), respectively. Such results represent the mangrove community structure and functions of the Dongzhaigang are in stable condi-tion, its ecological succession sequence is intact, and the community responds well to environmental pressure. Located in downtown area and tourism development zone respectively, the mangrove in Sanyahe and Qingmeigang are heavily affected by environmental disturbances, which led to their obvious deterioration. The protection and recovery of the two areas are lim-ited in different degrees.

The authors compared the influence of six different extraction buffers on DNA yields, DNA purity, co-extracted humic compound yields, and their PCR (polymerase chain reaction) sensitivity from a typical acidic and high organic content soil type, mangrove soil. Results showed that the quality of the soil DNA obtained using the acidic SDS (sodium dodecyl sul-fate) buffer was poor. The DNA yields obtained using the PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone) buffer were higher than the other buff-ers, whereas the co-extracted humic compound yields were significantly higher. PCR results showed that no expected bands were obtained even in 1:1000 dilutions of the DNA extracts obtained using the acidic SDS buffer or PVP buffer. On the other hand, although the PVPP (polyvinylpolypyrrolidone) buffer and the CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) and PVPP buffer resulted in a lower DNA yield, the purity of the soil DNA was improved. In addition, the purity was improved as the concentration of PVPP in the buffer increased. Moreover, PCR amplification was successfully conducted in the 1:10 dilutions of the DNA extracts obtained using the CTAB and PVPP buffer and in the 1:100 dilutions of DNA extracts obtained using the 2% PVPP buffer, respectively. In conclusion, acidic SDS buffer and PVP buffer were not suitable for extracting DNA from the acidic and high organic content soil type; however, 2% PVPP buffer and CTAB and PVPP buffer improved the DNA quality.

A series of organic biomarkers were analyzed, which was from a core sample collected in the mangrove sediment near the Bamen Gulf in Hainan Island to investigate source and degradation of organic matters in the sediment. The percentage of organic carbon (OC%), the percentage of total nitrogen (TN%), OC/TN ratio, δ13C value, and specific biomarkers were determined using the sample. Concentrations of total fatty acids ranged from 7.8 to 21.8 µg•g-1 (dry weight). High portions of bio-source organic matters were derived from micro-organism, with large contributions of bacteria and plankton derived fatty acids (12.93% and 7.45% of total fatty acids, respectively), proved by low C/N ratio (5.35-7.47) and low δ13C value (-25‰ to  -22.9‰). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) with high degradation rate were lost fastest during decomposition. Long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) were relatively stable and shown no significant difference during degradation. The carbon preference index(CPI)and the n-alkane average chain length(ACL) indicated organic matter generally became more mature in deeper sediments.

Sediment samples were collected in 2008 from the Dongzhai Harbor, Sanya Bay, and Yalong Bay, typical mangrove wetlands of Hainan Island. The concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cr were analyzed using the Atomic Absorption Spec-trometer (SOLAAR M6), and Hg and As, using the Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometer (AFS-8130). The average concentra-tions of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Hg, and As in surface sediments are 14.8±9.2, 24.1±9.2, 57.9±36.5, 0.17±0.10, 29.6±20.4, 0.08±0.04, and 9.7±4.4 µg•g?1 dry weight, respectively. The levels of target chemicals except for Cd in sediments show the following order: Dongzhai Harbor > Sanya Bay > Yalong Bay, while the levels of Cd were generally similar among the study-ing areas. Compared with those from other typical mangrove wetlands of the world, heavy metal levels in sediments from these studying areas are in low- to median-levels, which is consistent with the factors that Hainan Island is still in low exploi-tation and its mangroves suffer little impact from human activities. The vertical profiles of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, and Hg con-centrations in core sediments show the highest values in the middle-upper layers and the lowest values in the bottom layers, with the in-between values in the surface layers; while the vertical profiles of As have the highest concentrations in the bot-tom-layer sediments and the lowest concentrations in the middle- to upper-layer sediments, and the concentrations of surface sediments are in between the two. Potential risk assessment shows that the pollution status of all target heavy metals except As is still low and therefore their ecological and environmental effects are also low.