On the relationships of Noctiluca scintillans with hydrological features and plankton characteristics in the Marine station of the South Sea, Korea

Abstract

We investigated the temporal abundance patterns of Noctiluca scintillans in the Marine station of the South Sea from 2001 to 2004, in order to identify the effects of biological, chemical and physical variables on dynamics of the species. These long-term investigations have revealed a temporal pattern of seasonal periodicity with maximal abundances in May-September, and with a low but obvious peak in December/January. The timing of the species's peaks delayed from May/July in 2001 and 2002 to August/September in 2003 and 2004. The temporal variations of the species corresponded to the chl-a concentrations during the study period. Exceptionally, the first peak of N. scintillans in winter was not coincident with the variation of the chl-a concentration in 2003. Regarding the condition of temperature and chl-a concentration in January from 2001 to 2004, the high abundance of N. scintillans might stem from the accumulation of drifted species through intrusion of the warm currents from oceanic waters. The chl-a concentration varied with the nitrate concentration, which was similar with the extent of precipitation in the marine station during the study period.