Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change
Herein, we conducted surveys during the 2018–2022 summers to investigate the impact of climate change-related changes in the phytoplankton community structure on the marine ecosystem in the South Sea of Korea. The average surface water temperature increased by ~1.07 °C at 0.0195 °C·yr<sup>−1&l...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/23/4043 |
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| author | Kyung-Woo Park Mi-Hee Chung Man-Ho Yoo Kwang-Seok O Kyoung-Yeon Kim Tae-Gyu Park Seok-Hyun Youn |
| author_facet | Kyung-Woo Park Mi-Hee Chung Man-Ho Yoo Kwang-Seok O Kyoung-Yeon Kim Tae-Gyu Park Seok-Hyun Youn |
| author_sort | Kyung-Woo Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Herein, we conducted surveys during the 2018–2022 summers to investigate the impact of climate change-related changes in the phytoplankton community structure on the marine ecosystem in the South Sea of Korea. The average surface water temperature increased by ~1.07 °C at 0.0195 °C·yr<sup>−1</sup> between 1968 and 2022. During the summers, the rate was 0.0211 °C·yr<sup>−1</sup>, with a total increase of ~1.16 °C, indicating a stronger increase in summer surface water temperature. Over the last 30 years, nutrient levels in the South Sea have decreased, particularly at the surface. Moreover, 29.3–90.0% of the phytoplankton community structure was dominated by nanoflagellates (≤20 μm). Based on the size of the phytoplankton chl-<i>a</i>, the average contribution rate of picophytoplankton was the highest (60.1%). Redundancy analysis revealed negative correlations between nutrients and water depth, excluding NH<sub>4</sub>. Increased stratification due to climate change is causing reduced nutrient availability at the surface mixed layer, and the size of the phytoplankton structure is progressively reducing. These changes are expected to manifest in a complex microbial food web centered on smaller phytoplankton with low primary productivity. This can reduce the efficiency of carbon transfer to higher consumer levels, suggesting a potential decrease in marine productivity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:41:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-746155cde5104c0b95baa721a551cbb6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:41:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-746155cde5104c0b95baa721a551cbb62023-12-08T15:28:12ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-11-011523404310.3390/w15234043Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate ChangeKyung-Woo Park0Mi-Hee Chung1Man-Ho Yoo2Kwang-Seok O3Kyoung-Yeon Kim4Tae-Gyu Park5Seok-Hyun Youn6Oceanic Climate & Ecology Research Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Busan 46083, Republic of KoreaMarine Micro Algae Research Institute, Busan 48081, Republic of KoreaHAERANG Technology and Policy Research Institute, Suwon 16229, Republic of KoreaHaeon Plankton Ecology Research Institute, Busan 48106, Republic of KoreaOceanic Climate & Ecology Research Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Busan 46083, Republic of KoreaOceanic Climate & Ecology Research Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Busan 46083, Republic of KoreaOceanic Climate & Ecology Research Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Busan 46083, Republic of KoreaHerein, we conducted surveys during the 2018–2022 summers to investigate the impact of climate change-related changes in the phytoplankton community structure on the marine ecosystem in the South Sea of Korea. The average surface water temperature increased by ~1.07 °C at 0.0195 °C·yr<sup>−1</sup> between 1968 and 2022. During the summers, the rate was 0.0211 °C·yr<sup>−1</sup>, with a total increase of ~1.16 °C, indicating a stronger increase in summer surface water temperature. Over the last 30 years, nutrient levels in the South Sea have decreased, particularly at the surface. Moreover, 29.3–90.0% of the phytoplankton community structure was dominated by nanoflagellates (≤20 μm). Based on the size of the phytoplankton chl-<i>a</i>, the average contribution rate of picophytoplankton was the highest (60.1%). Redundancy analysis revealed negative correlations between nutrients and water depth, excluding NH<sub>4</sub>. Increased stratification due to climate change is causing reduced nutrient availability at the surface mixed layer, and the size of the phytoplankton structure is progressively reducing. These changes are expected to manifest in a complex microbial food web centered on smaller phytoplankton with low primary productivity. This can reduce the efficiency of carbon transfer to higher consumer levels, suggesting a potential decrease in marine productivity.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/23/4043South Sea of Koreaclimate changephytoplankton communitychl-<i>a</i> size fractionpicophytoplanktonreduced nutrients |
| spellingShingle | Kyung-Woo Park Mi-Hee Chung Man-Ho Yoo Kwang-Seok O Kyoung-Yeon Kim Tae-Gyu Park Seok-Hyun Youn Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change Water South Sea of Korea climate change phytoplankton community chl-<i>a</i> size fraction picophytoplankton reduced nutrients |
| title | Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change |
| title_full | Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change |
| title_short | Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change |
| title_sort | impact of phytoplankton community structure changes in the south sea of korea on marine ecosystems due to climate change |
| topic | South Sea of Korea climate change phytoplankton community chl-<i>a</i> size fraction picophytoplankton reduced nutrients |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/23/4043 |
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