Zongling Wang

A review of the green tides in the Yellow Sea, China

The recurrent green tide of Ulva prolifera caused serious ecological problems in the Yellow Sea and attached substantial scientific study. The bloom originated in the Subei Shoal area and drifted to the coast of Shandong Province during the period from May to July, driven by a series of physical processes. Here we reviewed advances in the understanding of green tides in the Yellow Sea and elucidate the developmental model of this phenomenon. This knowledge will help resource managers to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impacts to the Yellow Sea.

Effect of temperature, salinity and irradiance on growth and photosynthesis of Ulva prolifera

Intensive Pyropia aquaculture in the coast of southwestern Yellow Sea and its subsequent waste, including disposed Ulva prolifera, was speculated to be one of the major sources for the large-scale green tide proceeding in the Yellow Sea since 2007. It was, however, unclear how the detached U. prolifera responded and resumed growing after they detached from its original habitat. In this study, we investigated the growth and photosynthetic response of the detached U. prolifera to various temperature, salinity and irradiance in the laboratory. The photosynthetic rate of the detached U. prolifera was significantly higher at moderate temperature levels (14–27°C) and high salinity (26–32), with optimum at 23°C and 32. Both low (<14°C) and highest temperature (40°C), as well as low salinity (8) had adverse effects on the photosynthesis. Compared with the other Ulva species, U. prolifera showed higher saturated irradiance and no significant photoinhibition at high irradiance, indicating the great tolerance of U. prolifera to the high irradiance. The dense branch and complex structure of floating mats could help protect the thalli and reduce photoinhibition in field. Furthermore, temperature exerted a stronger influence on the growth rate of the detached U. prolifera compared to salinity. Overall, the high growth rate of this detached U. prolifera (10.6%–16.7% d–1) at a wide range of temperature (5–32°C) and salinity (14–32) implied its blooming tendency with fluctuated salinity and temperature during floating. The environmental parameters in the southwestern Yellow Sea at the beginning of green tide were coincident with the optimal conditions for the detached U. prolifera.

The current situations of green macroalgae and micro-propagules in Pyropia aquaculture of the Subei Shoal in spring of 2013

To discover the distribution of green algal micro-propagules in the Subei Shoal and clarify the growth of green macroalgae attached on Pyropia aquaculture rafts, an integrated investigation in Pyropia aquaculture area and one cruise in the coastal area of the Subei Shoal were carried out from March to May in 2013. The results showed that green algal micro-propagules were discovered in seawater and sediment during March to May. The average quantity of micro-propagules was 267 ind./L in surface seawater and 43 ind./g in sediment. The biomass of attached green macroalgae increased in Pyropia aquaculture from March to May. Three species, including Ulva prolifera, Ulva linza and Blidingia sp. were found in Pyropia aquaculture rafts. The dominant specie was Blidingia sp. and the second was U. prolifera in spring. This study indicated that the micro-propagules and macroalgae were existed in the coastal area of the Subei Shoal at the early stage of green tide. This was the key point to the governance of green tide in China.

Source of propagules of the fouling green macroalgae in the Subei Shoal, China

Since 2007, large-scale green tides dominated by Ulva prolifera consecutively bloomed in the Yellow Sea and caused great economic losses. The fouling U. prolifera on the Pyropia yezoensis aquaculture rafts in the Subei Shoal was regarded as the major source of the floating biomass. However, it was still unclear about the seed source of fouling green macroalgae attached on the rafts. In this study, the field surveys and the indoor experiments were conducted to reveal the source of propagules of the fouling green macroalgae on the rafts and to study the anti-fouling material for P. yezoensis aquaculture rafts which could possibly be a feasible strategy to control the green tides in the Yellow Sea. The results showed that (1) micro-propagules of several green macroalgal species, including U. prolifera, U. linza, U. compressa, U. flexuosa, and Blidingia sp. coexisted in the waters and sediments in the Subei Shoal and their proportion remarkably changed over time; (2) the bamboo poles with peeling treatment could significantly reduce the amount of U. prolifera micro-propagules attached. This study confirmed that the micro-propagules distributed in the Subei Shoal area were the precursors of the green tides, and provided a feasible method to control the Yellow Sea large-scale green tides at the beginning.

Artificial seed germination and seedling production of Zostera marina L. by salinity manipulation

Vast declines in Zostera marina seagrass beds demand effective methods of rehabilitation. In this study, we developed a practical method by reducing salinity to induce seed germination followed with recovering salinity to facilitate seedling production of Z. marina. The results showed that Z. marina seeds collected from natural seawater (salinity 30) were induced to germinate at reduced salinities. Percent germination (GR) was higher and mean-time-to-germinate (MTG) was shorter at lower salinities. The highest GR and shortest MTG occurred at salinity 0 (deionized freshwater). After germination in freshwater, seeds could develop into seedlings at salinities 5–30 and continue the growth. Viability or development of germinated seeds was not significantly different during the 40 d of post-germination incubation at salinities 5–15 after 1–20 d of germination in freshwater. However, during the process of translating germinated seeds from salinity 0 and 5 to salinity 30, reducing the gradients of post-germination acclimation facilitated more seeds forming seedlings in less time. On average, after 60 d of static incubation, including 20 d in freshwater for germination followed with immediate shift to salinity 5 and increasing to salinity 30 at increment of 5 every two days until cultivation at constant salinity 30, 33% of Z. marina seeds produced healthy seedlings. The results indicate that the salinity-manipulation based method of artificial germination and seedling production is practical and effective in supporting rehabilitation of Z. marina bed.