Effect of monsoonal fluctuations on micro-phytoplankton and chlorophyll-α relationship in reefs ecosystems of South China Sea
2018
Khyril Syahrizan Husain | Zainudin Bachok
Phytoplankton are a key primary producer in aquatic ecosystems and mediate energy transfer between various organisms. Herein, we correlated chlorophyll-α contents with spatial and temporal fluctuations of micro-phytoplankton in a tropical coral reef ecosystem of the Bidong Archipelago during southwest and northeast monsoon seasons and made comparisons of pre-season and post-season primary production. Micro-sized phytoplankton were sampled using a slow vertical hauling technique with a shallow length of 20-micron mesh net, which allows meso-sized zooplankton to escape. Chlorophyll-α samples were collected from surface and bottom water layers using a Niskin water sampler. Micro-phytoplankton densities and chlorophyll-α concentrations onset bloom was from pre-southwest monsoon, peaked during the post-southwest monsoon and fluctuated significantly through the monsoon season. Mean of chlorophyll-α contents from surface and bottom water layers were positively correlated with micro-phytoplankton densities at Station’s 1, 7, 9 and 10. Station 7 was located at a mariculture farm and the fluctuation of primary producers differed little between sampling seasons, reflecting environmental interference but showed the strongest correlation (r=0.98) between each other. Whereas chlorophyll-a contents were correlated with micro-phytoplankton contents in water columns, they were not exclusively dependent on micro-phytoplankton abundance, as spatial and monsoonal factor play roles. The data suggested chlorophyll-α contents were indication of micro-phytoplankton distributions, and relevant to determine micro-phytoplankton biomass and nutrient status of the study area.
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