Bacterioplankton dynamics along the gradient from highly eutrophic Pearl River Estuary to oligotrophic northern South China Sea in wet season: Implication for anthropogenic inputs

Zhou, Weihua; Long, Aimin; Jiang, Tao; Chen, Shaoyong; Huang, Liangmin; Huang, Hui; Cai, Chuanghua; Yan, Yan

Bacterioplankton dynamics along the gradient from highly eutrophic Pearl River Estuary to oligotrophic northern South China Sea in wet season: Implication for anthropogenic inputs

2011

Bacterioplankton abundance (BA) and biomass (BB) from the eutrophic Pearl River Estuary (PRE) to the oligotrophic northern South China Sea (NSCS) were studied in the wet season. BA was significantly higher (p<0.05) in PRE (12.51±3.52×10⁸cellsL⁻¹), than in the continental shelf neritic province (CSNP, 4.95±2.21×10⁸cellsL⁻¹) and in the deep oceanic province (OP, 3.16±1.56×10⁸cellsL⁻¹). Nutrient-replete PRE waters (DIN>100μM and PO₄>1μM) resulted in high chl a and BB, whereas nutrient-depleted offshore waters (DIN <5μM and PO₄<0.5μM) had low biomass. Temperature (>26°C) was not the controlling factor of BA. BB was significantly correlated with chl a biomass both in PRE and NSCS. The bacteria to phytoplankton biomass (BB/PB) ratio increased clearly along the gradient from near-shore PRE (0.15) to offshore CSNP (0.93) and deep OP (2.75), indicating the important role of small cells in the open ocean compared to estuarine and coastal zones.

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