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Changes in nitrogen and phosphorus and their effects on phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea

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Abstract

Systematic studies of the changes in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) and their effects on phytoplankton over the last 30 years in the Bohai Sea are presented. The amount of sewage disposal, use of fertilizer and the Huanghe River runoff were found to have a significant influence on the DIN or DIP concentrations in the Bohai Sea over the last 30 years. Moreover, the changes in DIN and DIP resulted in changes in the limiting nutrients of phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea from nitrogen in the early 1980s to nitrogen-phosphorus in the late 1980s, and then to phosphorus after the 1990s. In addition, changes in nitrogen and phosphorus had a significant effect on the phytoplankton community structure. The half saturation constant (K s) was used to evaluate the effect of nutrients on the phytoplankton community structure in the Bohai Sea over the last 30 years. Cell abundance percentages of dominant phytoplankton species with high K s values for phosphorus and low K s values for nitrogen have decreased since the 1980s, while those of dominant phytoplankton species with low K s values for phosphorus and high K s values for nitrogen increased during this period.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Sisi Xu  (许思思), **ming Song  (宋金明), Xuegang Li  (**学刚), Huamao Yuan  (袁华茂), Ning Li  (**宁) & Liqin Duan  (段丽琴)

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, 100049, China

    Sisi Xu  (许思思) & Liqin Duan  (段丽琴)

  3. North China Sea Environmental Monitoring Centre, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, 266033, China

    Sisi Xu  (许思思) & Peiyan Sun  (孙培艳)

Authors
  1. Sisi Xu  (许思思)
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  2. **ming Song  (宋金明)
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  3. Xuegang Li  (**学刚)
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  4. Huamao Yuan  (袁华茂)
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  5. Ning Li  (**宁)
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  6. Liqin Duan  (段丽琴)
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  7. Peiyan Sun  (孙培艳)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to **ming Song  (宋金明).

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Creative Research Groups by (National Natural Science Foundation of China) (No. 40821004), the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2007CB407305)

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Xu, S., Song, J., Li, X. et al. Changes in nitrogen and phosphorus and their effects on phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 28, 945–952 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-010-0005-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-010-0005-3

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