Fluorometric Discrimination Technique of Phytoplankton Population Based on Wavelet Analysis

The discrete excitation-emission-matrix fluorescence spectra (EEMS) at 12 excitation wavelengths (400, 430, 450, 460, 470, 490, 500, 510, 525, 550, 570, and 590 nm) and emission wavelengths ranging from 600-750 nm were determined for 43 phytoplankton species. A two-rank fluorescence spectra database was established by wavelet analysis and a fluorometric discrimination technique for determining phytoplankton population was developed. For laboratory simulatively mixed samples, the samples mixed from 43 algal species (the algae of one division accounted for 25%, 50%, 75%, 85%, and 100% of the gross biomass, respectively), the average discrimination rates at the level of division were 65.0%, 87.5%, 98.6%, 99.0%, and 99.1%, with average relative contents of 18.9%, 44.5%, 68.9%, 73.4%, and 82.9%, respectively; the samples mixed from 32 red tide algal species (the dominant species accounted for 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100% of the gross biomass, respectively), the average correct discrimination rates of the dominant species at the level of genus were 63.3%, 74.2%, 78.8%, 83.4%, and 79.4%, respectively. For the 81 laboratory mixed samples with the dominant species accounting for 75% of the gross biomass (chlorophyll), the discrimination rates of the dominant species were 95.1% and 72.8% at the level of division and genus, respectively. For the 12 samples collected from the mesocosm experiment in Maidao Bay of Qingdao in August 2007, the dominant species of the 11 samples were recognized at the division level and the dominant species of four of the five samples in which the dominant species accounted for more than 80% of the gross biomass were discriminated at the genus level; for the 12 samples obtained from Jiaozhou Bay in August 2007, the dominant species of all the 12 samples were recognized at the division level. The technique can be directly applied to fluorescence spectrophotometers and to the developing of an in situ algae fluorescence auto-analyzer for phytoplankton population.

Phytoplankton community dynamics during Alexandrium blooms in 2019 off the Qinhuangdao coast,Bohai Sea,China

Alexandrium blooms in the northwest area of the Bohai Sea(Qinhuangdao coastal area),China,produce large amounts of toxins that could be enriched in shellfish and consequently harm human bodies.To understand the succession of the phytoplankton community structure during Alexandrium bloom events in the northwest area of the Bohai Sea off Qinhuangdao from April 2 to May 7,2019,microscopy observations and high-performance chromatography(HPLC)-pigment analysis were performed.Sixty species of phytoplankton were identified,mainly diatoms and dinofl agellates.The abundance of Alexandrium reached the maximum on April 16(3.3×10^(3) cells/L).HPLC-pigment CHEMTAX analysis showed that the phytoplankton community was composed mainly of diatoms,dinofl agellates,prasinophytes,and cryptophytes.Diatoms were the main contributor to the total Chl-a pool.There was a downward trend for the proportion of diatom biomass to the total Chl-a pool,followed by an upward trend.The proportion of dinoflagellate biomass showed the opposite trend,whereas that of the prasinophyte biomass presented an obvious increasing trend.Temperature,nutrients,and nutrient structures were the main factors on the distribution of different phytoplankton groups in the study area as shown in the redundancy analysis.This work illustrates the succession of phytoplankton community structures during Alexandrium blooms and provided a theoretical basis for studies on the mechanism underlying the outbreak of harmful algal blooms in sea areas.