Zooplankton community response to eddy during dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans blooms off Pakistan,northern Arabian Sea

Eddies are major elements of ocean dynamics that affect ocean production.Understanding their effects on plankton distribution may help understand the dynamics of harmful phytoplankton blooms.Previous studies on the effects of eddies in the northern Arabian Sea have primarily focused on the zooplankton community,and few have observed zooplankton dynamics during winter blooms of Noctiluca scintillans.We investigated zooplankton community structure and the related environmental variability during a N.scintillans bloom that was affected by an eddy in February 2018.The sampling stations were deployed at eddy core and eddy edge distinguished in salinity,temperature,and velocity.Results show that N.scintillans bloomed at the eddy core with high-velocity currents induced by warm eddies that moved from eddy core to eddy edge.As a result,blooms significantly changed the zooplankton community structure.Non-bloom stations had higher zooplankton diversity than bloom stations.Zooplankton at non-bloom stations were dominated by either tunicates or copepods,such as Thalia democratica and Pleuromamma gracilis.In addition to the influence of N.scintillans blooms,the velocity of eddy currents was a crucial factor on the similarities in the zooplankton community composition between eddy edge and eddy core.Moreover,the lower abiotic factors in bloom area contribute to the structuring of the zooplankton community during N.scintillans blooms.

NEW OBSERVATIONS ON THE MEIOTIC PROCESS IN THE MARINE DINOFLAGELLATE NOCTILUCA SCINTILLANS (NOCTILUCALES, DINOPHYCEAE)

The meiotic process in Noctiluca scintillans were observed under light microscope. Some abnormal cell divisions, incompletely separated "zoospores" and the changes of the zoospores are described in this paper. Together with the findings of field samplings and the previous results by other researchers, the process of meiosis in N. scintillans was supposed to be a pathway to reduce the extra high density of NH 3-N within the cell in order to ensure normal population growth.

Spatiotemporal distribution of protozooplankton and copepod nauplii in relation to the occurrence of giant jellyfish in the Yellow Sea

The occurrence of the giant jellyfish, Nemopilema nomurai, has been a frequent phenomenon in the Yellow Sea. However, the relationship between the giant jellyfish and protozoa, in particular ciliates, remains largely unknown. We investigated the distribution of nanoflagellates, ciliates, Noctiluca scintillans, and copepod nauplii along the transect 33~N in the Yellow Sea in June and August, 2012, during an occurrence of the giant jellyfish, and in October of that year when the jellyfish was absent. The organisms studied were mainly concentrated in the surface waters in summer, while in autumn they were evenly distributed in the water column. Nanoflagellate, ciliate, and copepod nauplii biomasses increased from early June to August along with jellyfish growth, the first two decreased in October, while N. scintillans biomass peaked in early June to 3 571 pg C/L and decreased in August and October. In summer, ciliate biomass greatly exceeded that of copepod nauplii （4.61-15.04 ~tg C/L vs. 0.34-0.89 pg C/L）. Ciliate production was even more important than biomass, ranging from 6.59 to 34.19 ~tg C/（L.d） in summer. Our data suggest a tight and positive association among the nano-, micro-, and meso-zooplankton in the study area. Statistical analysis revealed that the abundance and total production of ciliate as well as loricate ciliate biomass were positively correlated with giant jellyfish biomass, indicating a possible predator-prey relationship between ciliates and giant jellyfish. This is in contrast to a previous study, which reported a significant reduction in ciliate standing crops due to the mass occurrence ofN. nomurai in summer. Our study indicates that, with its high biomass and, in particular, high production ciliates might support the mass occurrence of giant jellyfish.

Effects of Lugol's iodine solution and formalin on cell volume of three bloom-forming dinoflagellates

Fixatives are traditionally used in marine ecosystem research. The bias introduced by fixatives on.the dimensions of plankton cells may lead to an overestimation or underestimation of the carbon biomass. To determine the impact of traditional fixatives on dinoflagellates during short- and long-term fixation, we analyzed the degree of change in three bloom-forming dinoflagellates （Prorocentrum rnicans, Scrippsiella trochoidea and Nocfiluca scintillans） brought about by Lugol＇s iodine solution （hereafter Lugol＇s） and formalin. The fixation effects were species-specific. P. micans cell volume showed no significant change following long-term preservation, and S. trochoidea swelled by approximately 8.06% in Lugol＇s and by 20.97% in formalin as a percentage of the live cell volume, respectively. N. scintillans shrank significantly in both fixatives. The volume change due to formalin in N. scintillans was not concentration-dependent, whereas the volume shrinkage ofN. scintillans cells fixed with Lugol＇s at a concentration of 2% was nearly six-fold that in cells fixed with Lugol＇s at a concentration of 0.6%-0.8%. To better estimate the volume of N. scintillans fixed in formalin at a concentration of 5%, we suggest that the conversion relationship was as follows： volume of live cell=volume of intact fixed cell/0.61. Apart from size change, damage induced by fixatives on N. scintillans was obvious. Lugol＇s is not a suitable fixative for N. scintillans due to high frequency of broken cells. Accurate carbon biomass estimate ofN. scintillans should be performed on live samples. These findings help to improve the estimate of phytoplankton cell volume and carbon biomass in marine ecosystem.

3-D observations of a red tide event in the offshore water along the western Guangdong coast

From November 24 to 26, 2014, a red tide event occurred in the offshore water off the Hailing Island located at the western Guangdong coast. The red tide appeared as pink strips distributed within 3 km in the offshore water and extended for about 10 km along the shoreline. During the flood tide, the pink seawater rushed to the beach with breaking waves, forming foam strips on the beach. Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction Technologies, Guangdong Ocean University, emergently responded to the event and organized three-dimensional observations from the air, onboard and on beach. The preliminary analyses of the cruise data and water samples indicate that the event was induced by non- toxic Noctiluca scintillans, of which the concentration reaches as high as 4 200 cells/L near the surface and 2600 cells/L at the bottom.