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Importance of light status on phytoplankton biomass in the turbid Bisan Strait, Japan: results from a high-frequency sampling study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2021

Hitomi Yamaguchi*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, 2393 Ikenobe, Miki, Kita, Kagawa761-0795, Japan
Keigo Hasegawa
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, 2393 Ikenobe, Miki, Kita, Kagawa761-0795, Japan
Kuninao Tada
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, 2393 Ikenobe, Miki, Kita, Kagawa761-0795, Japan
Koji Kishimoto
Affiliation:
Seto Inland Sea Regional Research Center, Kagawa University, 4511-15 Kamano, Aji, Takamatsu, Kagawa761-0130, Japan
Kazuhiko Ichimi
Affiliation:
Seto Inland Sea Regional Research Center, Kagawa University, 4511-15 Kamano, Aji, Takamatsu, Kagawa761-0130, Japan
*
Author for correspondence: Hitomi Yamaguchi, E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The dynamics of phytoplankton biomass in the vertically mixed south-eastern part of the Bisan Strait, in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, may be considered to be strongly dependent not only on nutrients but also on light status. This was investigated by examining variations in chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), nutrients, and Secchi-disc depth through high-frequency sampling (a mean of once every 1.7 days) at the same station from April to October 2019. Precipitation during the Japanese rainy season (East Asian monsoon rains) was associated with a decrease in salinity from 32 to 31 in late July. The highest concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), the most deficient nutrient, also was recorded in late July in association with seasonal precipitation. However, the measured Chl-a peak (max. 4 μg l−1) in early August was not as high as expected, possibly due to low water clarity. A relatively small but substantial peak of DIN (max. 4 μM) was recorded in mid-August, which coincided with the passing of a typhoon. The small peak of DIN coupled with higher water clarity thereafter was followed by a phytoplankton bloom from mid-August to early September, at which the highest Chl-a (7 μg l−1) occurred. It is suggested that increased light penetration enhanced the efficiency of nutrient assimilation and thereby triggered the late-summer phytoplankton bloom. In contrast to the adjacent stratified areas, light rather than nutrient status appears to be the key determinant for the onset of phytoplankton blooms in the Bisan Strait.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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