Effects of the Water-Sediment Regulation On Spatial and Temporal Pattern of the Plankton Community in the Yellow River Estuary

Abstract

The human activities have profound impacts on plankton community and diversity in the sea. The Yellow River Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme (WSRS), diverting large volumes of freshwater and sediment into the sea, may influence the plankton community spatially and temporally in the Yellow River estuary and adjacent regions. To understand the potential effects of WSRS on plankton community and diversity, 18S rDNA sequencing was performed for the plankton samples collected in Yellow River estuary during the period of WSRS. A total of 268 plankton genera were identified in 15 field samples from three sections (North, Middle, and South) of Yellow River estuary and adjacent regions. For the spatial scale, the predominant phylum of Arthropoda was consistently detected in North, Middle, and South. For the time scale, Arthropoda was identified to be the predominant phylum during pre-WSRS and inter-WSRS, accounting for 76.74% and 78.99%, respectively. In contrast, the proportion of Arthropoda during post-WSRS was decreased to 23.89%, respectively. Temperature (TE) and chlorophyll-a concentrations (CA) were found to be the main factors affecting the distribution of plankton communities. Therefore, the distribution of plankton communities has been influenced by WSRS and environmental factors during WSRS in the Yellow River estuary and adjacent regions. The present findings reveal a comprehensive pattern of plankton diversity and distribution, and highlight the impacts of human activities on plankton communities during WSRS in the Yellow River estuary.

Keywords: plankton, High-throughput sequencing, 18S rDNA, the Yellow River estuary, Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme