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. 2022 Feb 23;14(3):160.
doi: 10.3390/toxins14030160.

Characteristics of Harmful Algal Species in the Coastal Waters of China from 1990 to 2017

Wanli Hou  1 , Xi Chen  2 , Menglin Ba  3 , Jianghua Yu  3 , Tiantian Chen  4 , Yihui Zhu  3 , Jie Bai  1
Affiliations

Characteristics of Harmful Algal Species in the Coastal Waters of China from 1990 to 2017

Wanli Hou et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have occurred frequently in coastal waters of China, imposing negative effects on the marine ecological environment. A dataset of HABs and terrestrial runoff was collected and analyzed in this study, and factors responsible for HABs were further explored. Frequency and expansion of HABs peaked between 2001 and 2007, and although they have declined slightly since then, they have remained quite high. Frequency and accumulative area of HABs peaked in 2004-2005, and most occurred from April to August during these years. HABs occurred frequently in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary, and Prorocentrum donghaiense, Noctiluca scientillans, Karenia mikimotoi, and Skeletonema costatum were the main algal species. The increases of eutrophication, the abnormal sea surface temperature caused by climate and ocean currents, and the species invasion caused by the discharge of ballast water may be important factors for the long-term outbreak of HABs in the Chinese coastal waters. These findings provide a better understanding of HABs in China, which will be helpful to further prevention and control.

Keywords: Chinese coastal waters; cyst; harmful algal blooms; long-term.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The coastal waters of China (a), frequency (b), and area (c) of HABs in China from 1990 to 2017 and locations of HABs in 1990–2000 (d) and after 2000 (e). Note: different color spots represent different algal species at phylum level.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) The coastal waters of China. Long-term changes of HABs frequency (b) and area (c) in the Bohai Sea (BS). Long-term changes of HABs frequency (d) and area (e) in the Yellow Sea (YS). Long-term changes of HABs area (f) and frequency (g) in the South China Sea (SCS). Long-term changes of HABs area (h) and frequency (i) in the East China Sea (ECS).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Monthly changes of HABs in the Bohai Sea (a), Yellow Sea (b), South China Sea (c), and East China Sea (d) during 1980 to 2009.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Frequency of dominant related species in the coastal waters of China from 2000 to 2017. Note: different colored squares represent different frequencies. The color of the words represents the algal species at the phylum level.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Changes of pollutants (nutrients/ton, COD/ton, petroleum/ton) in rivers entering the sea from 2002 to 2017.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Changes of port throughput over years (1998–2017) in the coastal China Sea.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Principal components analysis of HAB-related species, causative species, and environmental variables in coastal China sea from 2002 to 2017. Pyrrophyta, Bacillariophyta, Haptophyta, Ochrophyta, and Ciliophora are causative groups of HABs. Environmental variables include rainfall, wind speed, port throughput, COD emissions, petroleum emissions, nutrient emissions, sea surface temperature (SST), and salinity (SSS).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Main ocean currents and HABs locations (the blue arrow indicates the Taiwan Warm Current (TWWC), Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW), Yellow Sea Coastal current (YSCC), Subei Coastal Current (SCC), and Korea Coastal Current (KCC); red spots represent the location of HABs).
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