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Tempo-spatial distribution of Ulva spp. micro-propagules in the Yellow Sea during and after green tide in 2019

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Abstract

Large-scale green tides occur frequently in summer in the Yellow Sea in recent decade. Micro-propagules, providing “seeds” for the seaweeds, play an important role in the formation of green tide. We studied the distribution pattern and genetic composition of the Ulva micro-propagules in the Yellow Sea during and after the green tide in 2019. In April, a great amount of Ulva micro-propagules was detected in the Subei Shoal, with the average density of 908 inds./L, being similar to that of previous studies. U. prolifera was found out at a low percentage (4%), and 25% of them were positive when tested by the specific marker for the floating ecotype. The percentage of U. prolifera was obviously lower than that in the same season from 2009 to 2016. Therefore, the quantity of U. prolifera micro-propagules sharply decreased. Significant variation in composition of the micro-propagules in Subei radial sand ridges was revealed in the background of the alternation of macroalgal tides in the Yellow Sea in the latest years. During the green tide in June and July, Ulva micro-propagules were detected from some nearshore sites where the floating seaweeds distributed, and U. prolifera was the dominate species. In September, when the green tide ended, no Ulva micro-propagule was detected from the open sea area of the Yellow Sea. It is indicated that the green algae micro-propagules were unlikely to exist in the open water of the Yellow Sea for a long time according to the large-scale surveys. The mechanism of preserving micro-propagules in Subei radial sand ridges, and the destination of U. prolifera micro-propagules in the open sea area of the Yellow Sea after green tide deserves further study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Jin Zhao, Qianchun Liu, Fengjie Li, Xiu Wei & Peng Jiang

  2. Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266237, China

    Jin Zhao, Qianchun Liu & Peng Jiang

  3. CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Fanzhou Kong & Tian Yan

  4. Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266237, China

    Fanzhou Kong & Tian Yan

  5. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Qianchun Liu

  6. College of Life Science, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Xiu Wei

Authors
  1. Jin Zhao
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  2. Fanzhou Kong
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  3. Qianchun Liu
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  4. Fengjie Li
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  5. Xiu Wei
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  6. Tian Yan
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  7. Peng Jiang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peng Jiang.

Additional information

Supported by the Science & Technology Basic Resources Investigation Program of China (No. 2018FY100205), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nos. XDA23050302, XDB42030302), the Young Scientists Fund of LMBB, the Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (No. YQ2018NO09), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFC1408305), the Key Deployment Project of Centre for Ocean Mega-Research of Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nos. COMS2019J04, COMS2019Q05), the Key R&D Program of Shandong Province (No. 2019GSF107012), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41776153), and the Shandong Provincial Natural science Foundation (No. ZR2021ZD28)

Data Availability Statement

The datasets analyzed during the current study were available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Zhao, J., Kong, F., Liu, Q. et al. Tempo-spatial distribution of Ulva spp. micro-propagules in the Yellow Sea during and after green tide in 2019. J. Ocean. Limnol. 40, 2462–2472 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-022-1365-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-022-1365-1

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