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Spatial and diel variations of the prokaryotic community in the Phaeocystis globosa blooms area of Beibu Gulf, China

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Abstract

While prokaryotes play key roles in nutrient cycling and energy flow during Phaeocystis globosa blooms, the information on the spatial and diel temporal distribution of the prokaryotic community during Phaeocystis blooms remains scarce. In January 2019, we used high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to explore the spatial and diel variations of particle-attached (PA) and free-living (FL) prokaryotic communities during the blooming phase of P. globosa in Beibu Gulf, Guangxi, China. The results suggested a significant spatial variation pattern in the horizontal distribution of prokaryotic communities, while there was no significant difference in the vertical direction. Both spatial distance and environmental variables shaped the horizontal distribution of the prokaryotic community structure, while environmental variables, particularly the abundance of P. globosa colony and Chl a, showed more significant influence and were closely related to the structure and variation of the prokaryotic community. Strong vertical mixing of the water column disrupted the vertical structure heterogeneity of the prokaryotic community in winter. There were significant differences in the diel samples of PA prokaryotic communities, but not in the FL prokaryotic communities. Nitrate, ammonium and the abundance of P. globosa colony were the key environmental variables impacting the diel variations of prokaryotic communities over the sampling period. The present study provided valuable information to depict the spatial-temporal variations of the microbial community and its association with environmental parameters during P. globosa bloom in the tropical gulf.

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Acknowledgements

The hospitality and assistance of the R/V Yuezhanyuke-10 crew are gratefully acknowledged. We thank the team of Zhiming Yu at Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences for five inorganic nutrients, the team of Junxiang Lai at Guangxi Academy of Sciences for DO and pH, and the team of Weibing Guan at Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources for temperature and salinity measurements.

Funding

The National Key Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China, under contract No. 2017YFC1404300; the Scientific and Technological Innovation Project of the Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao) under contract No. 2016ASKJ02; the Aoshan Talents Program of the Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao) under contract No. 2015ASTP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. North China Sea Environmental Monitoring Center, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, 266033, China

    Cheng He

  2. Key Laboratory of Ecological Prewarning, Protection and Restoration of Bohai Sea, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao, 266033, China

    Cheng He

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

    Cheng He, Sha Xu, Shuqun Song & Caiwen Li

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

    Shuqun Song & Caiwen Li

  5. Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Caiwen Li

  6. Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Environmental Science, Xi’an, 710061, China

    Sha Xu

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  1. Cheng He
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Correspondence to Caiwen Li.

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He, C., Xu, S., Song, S. et al. Spatial and diel variations of the prokaryotic community in the Phaeocystis globosa blooms area of Beibu Gulf, China. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 41, 87–97 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-022-1984-6

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