The characteristic of phytoplankton community and its variation at artificial reef area of the coastal sea of Tianjin

Three cruises were investigated respectively in May,July and November 2016 in the artificial reef area of 2010,2012,and 2014 and the non-artificial reef area(control area)in the coastal area of Tianjin.Each area had 3 sampling stations,a total of 12 sites.The result showed that 58 taxa of phytoplankton were identified which belongs to 2 phyla 28 genera,Among these species,bacillariophyta including 19 genera 44 species,pyrrhophyta including 9 genera and 14 species.Give priority to with diatom species,accounting for 75.9%of the total species,followed by dinoflagellates,accounting for 24.1%.Dominant phytoplankton species give priority to with coscinodiscus and Chaetoceros of bacillariophyta,mainly including Coscinodiscus wailesii,C.asteromphalus,C.granii,C.oculus-iridis,C.spp.,Chaetoceros castracanei,C.lorenzianus,C.curvisetus,Pseudo-nitzschiapungens,Guianardia delicatula,Rhizosolenia setigera,Proboscia alata f.indica and Noctilluca scintillans.Phytoplankton cell abundance revealed obviously seasonal changes,the average cell abundance respectively was 94.79×10^4 cells/m^4、39.53×10^4 cells/m^4 and 21.5×10^4 cells/m^3.Phytoplankton diversity index has obviously seasonal variation,and in November,shannon-wiener diversity index,Margalef index and Pielou index are higher than in May and July.Comparing the artificial reef areas with the control area,the phytoplankton cells abundance of the control area in May was significantly higher than the artificial reef areas.In July and November,the artificial reef area of 2014 phytoplankton cell abundance was significantly higher than other artificial reef area and the control area.Diversity index of phytoplankton in the control area and the artificial reef of 2012 was lower than the artificial reef area of 2010 and 2014,and lowest in non-artificial reef areas.Obviously,the construction of artificial reef had significant effect for the improvement of the phytoplankton community diversity,but the phytoplankton community diversity is not always increasing and fluctuating to a certain extent as time goes by.

A Comparative Study of Fish Assemblages Near Aquaculture, Artificial and Natural Habitats

Habitat plays a critical role in regulating fish community structure. Using the data collected from a monthly trammel net survey in Ma'an archipelago off the east coast of China, we evaluated impacts of five different habitats(artificial reefs, mussel farms, cage aquaculture, rocky reefs and soft bottom) on fish assemblages. This study suggests that artificial reefs(AR) have significantly higher species richness, abundance and diversity than mussel farms(MF) or soft bottom(SB) habitats during most seasons, and that fish taxa in the AR habitats are similar to those in the rocky reef(RR) habitats. Two different fish assemblage patterns were revealed in the study area using non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination: an assemblage dominated by reef fishes(especially by Scorpaenidae species) in AR, RR and cage aquaculture(CA) habitats and an assemblage dominated by Sciaenidae species in MF and SB habitats. We suggest that reef fishes play a key role in differentiating fish community structures in the study area. Although few differences in fish abundance and diversity were found between the CA and SB habitats, a more diverse age structure was observed in the CA habitats. A much more complex fish assemblage and enhanced population of local species were established as a result of the presence of both floating and fixed artificial structures, probably through improved survival rates.

Community structure of planktonic copepods in artificial reefs of Wenchang,Hainan

To understand the characteristics of population structure of planktonic copepods and their response mechanisms to marine environmental factors in different seasons,the community structure of planktonic copepods in samples obtained from 7 stations in artificial reefs of Wenchang,Hainan Province in March and September 2019 were investigated.A total of 33 species of planktonic copepods belonging to 23 genera within 17 families were identified in artificial reefs,with 27 species and 21 genera in spring,and 23 species and 19 genera in fall,respectively.The identified planktonic copepods were further categorized into estuarine groups,warm temperate groups,warm water coastal groups,and warm water widespread groups.The predominant species in spring were mainly composed of Temora turbinata and Canthocalanus pauper,whereas Tortanus gracilis and Subeucalanus subcrassus were dominant species in fall.The species and abundance of planktonic copepods in spring were higher than that in fall,while the diversity index and evenness were vice versa,with obvious seasonal differences.In addition,there was a correlation between the population of copepods and physicochemical environmental factors.The major warm water group of copepods in spring showed different degree of correlation with environmental factors,such as NO2-N,NH3-N,pH,water depth,temperature etc.,while the population of copepods in fall was affected by limiting factors such as dissolved oxygen,pH,and temperature.In conclusion,copepods species inartificial reefs were rich and diverse,and their community structure tended to be stable.In addition,the surrounding water quality was generally good,and the whole marine ecosystem and ecological environment were in good condition.