Mineral provinces and material provenance of the surficial sediments near the Zhongsha Islands in the South China Sea

Characteristics and distribution patterns of clastic minerals （0. 063 -0. 125 mm） in bottom sediments represent a significant indi- cator for the identification of the origin of sediment. One hundred and fourteen surface sediment samples, which were collected from the area near the Zhongsha Islands in the South China Sea, were analysed to identify the mineral suites and their distributions in the study area. The area can be divided into three mineral provinces ： （Ⅰ） a province of biogenic minerals, which mainly originate from the Zhongsha Atoll ; （ Ⅱ） a province of volcanogenic minerals, which are mainly derived from local basaltic seamounts and small-scale volcanoes that are probably erupting, with some influences from the island-arc volcanic region around the South China Sea; and （ Ⅲ） a mixed mineral province whose material source includes biogenic minerals, volcanogenic minerals and terrigenous minerals; the last province can be subdivided into a mixed mineral sub-province of the northeastern part of the study area, in which terrigenous minerals are mainly derived from China＇ s Mainland and do not exceed 17°N, and a mixed mineral subprovince of the southeastern part of the study area, in which terrigenous minerals are derived from Kalimantan and Indochina Peninsula and might be further transported into the deep sea basin through submarine canyons.

Biodiversity and distribution of benthic dinoflagellates in tropical Zhongsha Islands,South China Sea

Benthic dinoflagellates have attracted increasing attention in recent years because of their toxicity and ability to form extensive harmful algal blooms.Ostreopsis producing palytoxin and its analogs,Gambierdiscus producing ciguatera toxins,and Prorocentrum producing okadaic acid and dinophysis toxins,have been concerned as serious human poisonings.We explored the benthic dinoflagellate biodiversity and distribution characteristics of a series of tropical reefs in 20-40-m water depth in wet season in the Zhongsha Islands in South China Sea using morphological,phylogenetic,and cell counting methods.Results show that benthic dinoflagellates in the islands are rich in biodiversity and 15 species from genera Amphidinium,Coolia,Ostreopsis,and Prorocentrum were identifi ed:Amphidinium carterae,A.magnum,A.massartii,A.operculatum,Coolia canariensis,C.malayensis,C.palmyrensis,C.tropicalis,Ostreopsis cf.ovata,Prorocentrum concavum,P.cf.sculptile,P.emarginatum,P.hof fmannianum,P.lima,and P.rhathymum.Among them,A.magnum is reported for the first time in Chinese waters.The abundance of benthic dinoflagellates was relatively low at 88-4345 cells/100 cm^(2) on sediment and 10-91 cells/g on macroalgae.Prorocentrum and Amphidinium were the dominant and subdominant genera,respectively.It is speculated that the low abundance of benthic dinoflagellates is closely related to the scarcity of macroalgae and stronger water motion at the depth>15 m in Zhongsha Islands.This study expanded the study in biodiversity of benthic dinoflagellates in Chinese waters,and revealed the distribution characteristics of harmful benthic microalgae in reef habitats.