Understanding the recurrent large-scale green tide in the Yellow Sea: temporal and spatial correlations between multiple geographical, aquacultural and biological factors.

The coast of Jiangsu Province in China - where Ulva prolifera has always been firstly spotted before developing into green tides - is uniquely characterized by a huge intertidal radial mudflat. Results showed that: (1) propagules of U. prolifera have been consistently present in seawater and sediments of this mudflat and varied with locations and seasons; (2) over 50,000 tons of fermented chicken manure have been applied annually from March to May in coastal animal aquaculture ponds and thereafter the waste water has been discharged into the radial mudflat intensifying eutrophication; and (3) free-floating U. prolifera could be stranded in any floating infrastructures in coastal waters including large scale Porphyra farming rafts. For a truly integrated management of the coastal zone, reduction in nutrient inputs, and control of the effluents of the coastal pond systems, are needed to control eutrophication and prevent green tides in the future.

[1]  J. Thompson,et al.  CLUSTAL W: improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequence alignment through sequence weighting, position-specific gap penalties and weight matrix choice. , 1994, Nucleic acids research.

[2]  S. Shimada,et al.  Phylogeography of the genus Ulva (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta), with special reference to the Japanese freshwater and brackish taxa , 2008, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[3]  N. Ye,et al.  Somatic cells serve as a potential propagule bank of Enteromorpha prolifera forming a green tide in the Yellow Sea, China , 2010, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[4]  Yuze Mao,et al.  Settlement of vegetative fragments of Ulva prolifera confirmed as an important seed source for succession of a large‐scale green tide bloom , 2011 .

[5]  H. Paerl,et al.  Controlling Eutrophication: Nitrogen and Phosphorus , 2009, Science.

[6]  P. Morand,et al.  Green tides on the Brittany coasts , 2006, 2006 IEEE US/EU Baltic International Symposium.

[7]  Qianguo Xing,et al.  World's largest macroalgal bloom caused by expansion of seaweed aquaculture in China. , 2009, Marine pollution bulletin.

[8]  M. He,et al.  On the Recurrent Ulva prolifera Blooms in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea , 2010 .

[9]  T. Chopin,et al.  Effects of germanium dioxide, an inhibitor of diatom growth, on the microscopic laboratory cultivation stage of the kelp, Laminaria saccharina , 2007, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[10]  F. Liu,et al.  Growth and nutrient uptake capacity of two co-occurring species, Ulva prolifera and Ulva linza , 2012 .

[11]  P. Pamilo,et al.  Evolution of the ITS sequences of ribosomal DNA in Enteromorpha (Chlorophyceae). , 2004, Hereditas.

[12]  Peter Fearns,et al.  Inter- and intra-annual patterns of Ulva prolifera green tides in the Yellow Sea during 2007-2009, their origin and relationship to the expansion of coastal seaweed aquaculture in China. , 2011, Marine pollution bulletin.

[13]  D. Schories.  Sporulation ofEnteromorpha spp. (Chlorophyta) and overwintering of spores in sediments of the Wadden Sea, Island Sylt, North Sea , 1995, Netherland Journal of Aquatic Ecology.

[14]  Song Sun,et al.  Tracking the algal origin of the Ulva bloom in the Yellow Sea by a combination of molecular, morphological and physiological analyses. , 2010, Marine environmental research.

[15]  Peter Fearns,et al.  Recurrence of the world's largest green-tide in 2009 in Yellow Sea, China: Porphyra yezoensis aquaculture rafts confirmed as nursery for macroalgal blooms. , 2010, Marine pollution bulletin.

[16]  T. Chopin,et al.  The dominant Ulva strain of the 2008 green algal bloom in the Yellow Sea was not detected in the coastal waters of Qingdao in the following winter , 2010, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[17]  F. Liu,et al.  Ulva diversity in the Yellow Sea during the large‐scale green algal blooms in 2008–2009 , 2010 .

[18]  M. Kimura.  A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences , 1980, Journal of Molecular Evolution.

[19]  S. Qin,et al.  Molecular phylogenetic analysis of attached Ulvaceae species and free-floating Enteromorpha from Qingdao coasts in 2007 , 2008 .

[20]  F. Liu,et al.  Quantitative, molecular and growth analyses of Ulva microscopic propagules in the coastal sediment of Jiangsu province where green tides initially occurred. , 2012, Marine environmental research.

[21]  P. Fong,et al.  RAPID NITRATE UPTAKE RATES AND LARGE SHORT‐TERM STORAGE CAPACITIES MAY EXPLAIN WHY OPPORTUNISTIC GREEN MACROALGAE DOMINATE SHALLOW EUTROPHIC ESTUARIES 1 , 2011, Journal of phycology.

[22]  R. Castenholz,et al.  EFFECTS OF SALINITY AND LIGHT INTENSITY ON THE RESUMPTION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN REHYDRATED CYANOBACTERIAL MATS FROM BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, MEXICO 1 , 2007 .

[23]  J. Burkholder,et al.  Harmful algal blooms and eutrophication: Nutrient sources, composition, and consequences , 2002 .

[24]  Germination and anchorage ofEnteromorpha spp. in sediments of the Wadden Sea , 1993, Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen.

[25]  Olivier De Clerck,et al.  Research note: Identity of the Qingdao algal bloom , 2009 .

[26]  C. Gobler,et al.  Eutrophication and Harmful Algal Blooms: A Scientific Consensus. , 2008, Harmful algae.

[27]  M. Nei,et al.  MEGA4: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) software version 4.0. , 2007, Molecular biology and evolution.

[28]  J. Felsenstein.  CONFIDENCE LIMITS ON PHYLOGENIES: AN APPROACH USING THE BOOTSTRAP , 1985, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.