Relationship between environmental factors and plankton in the Bayuquan Port, Liaodong Bay, China: a five-year study

To understand the relationship between the plankton community and environmental factors and water quality in the Bayuquan Port of Liaodong Bay, China, and investigations were carried out during six different periods (April 2009, April 2010, October 2011, April 2012, October 2012, and April 2013). This area was characterized by high levels of nutrient and suspended solids (SPS) during survey periods, and eutrophication led to the occurrence of red tides in April and October 2012 and April 2013. Our analyses revealed that the plankton communities of Bayuquan Port lacked stability and were affected seriously by external disturbance (e.g., oceanographic engineering and river runoff). Our data indicate that oil, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), SPS, and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) were key factors that regulated the phytoplankton and zooplankton communities. The partial redundancy analysis (partial RDA) suggested that oil and SPS were the most important environmental variables affecting the phytoplankton community in April 2010 and 2012, whereas DIN concentration played a governing role in zooplankton dynamics. Oil and Chl- a concentrations affected significantly the zooplankton community in October 2012. Therefore, the plankton communities could reflect both dynamic changes in coastal environmental factors and the ongoing eutrophication process caused by anthropogenic activities in this area.