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Responses of phytoplankton community to the input of different aerosols in the East China Sea
Author(s) -
Meng X.,
Chen Y.,
Wang B.,
Ma Q. W.,
Wang F. J.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl069068
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , mesocosm , seawater , environmental science , diatom , environmental chemistry , oceanography , mineral dust , nitrate , biomass (ecology) , deposition (geology) , chlorophyll a , aerosol , abundance (ecology) , china sea , nutrient , sediment , chemistry , ecology , geology , biology , botany , paleontology , organic chemistry
Atmospheric deposition can affect marine phytoplankton by supplying macronutrients and trace elements. We conducted mesocosm experiments by adding aerosols with different composition (dominated by mineral dust, biomass burning and high Cu, and secondary aerosol, respectively) to the surface seawater of the East China Sea. Chlorophyll a concentrations were found to be the highest and lowest after adding aerosols containing the highest Fe and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), respectively. The relative abundance of Haptophyceae increased significantly after adding mineral dust, whereas diatom, Dinophyceae and Cryptophyceae reached the maximum accompanied with the highest DIN. Our results suggest that Fe may be more important than DIN in promoting primary productivity in the sampled seawater. The input of mineral dust and anthropogenic aerosols may result in distinct changes of phytoplankton community structure.