Abstract
Long-term data on diatom assemblages in a sediment core (60 cm) obtained from the Changjiang (Yangtze) River estuary were analyzed in order to assess the environmental changes that took place in the approximately 38 years (as determined by 210Pb measurements), i.e., between 1974 and 2012, of sediment accumulation. From the sediment core, 62 diatom taxa and genera were identified. The diatom biomass in the core generally increased beginning in the mid-1990s (core depth: 35 cm), accompanied by a shift in the dominant species from Podosira stelliger and two species of Cyclotella (C. stylorum and C. striata) to Paralia sulcata, three species of Thalassiosira (T. eccentria, T. oestrupii, and T. excentrica), Actinoptychus undulates, and Thalassionema nitzschioides. The changes in both species diversity and abundance suggested that since the 1980s the estuary has undergone extensive eutrophication. This conclusion was supported by the increased proportion of planktonic species, another indicator of high nutrients inputs, in the Changjiang River estuary.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Abrantes F. 1988. Diatom assemblages as upwelling indicators in surface sediments off Portugal. Mar. Geol., 85(1): 15–39.
Anderson N J, Vos P. 1992. Learning from the past: diatoms as palaeoecological indicators of changes in marine environments. Neth. J. Aquat. Ecol., 26(1): 19–30.
Andrén E. 1999. Changes in the composition of the diatom flora during the last century indicate increased eutrophication of the Oder estuary, south-western Baltic Sea. Estuar. Coast. Shelf S., 48(6): 665–676.
Appleby P G, Nolan P J, Gifford D W, Godfrey M J, Oldfield F, Anderson N J, Battarbee R W. 1986. 210 Pb dating by low background gamma counting. Hydrobiologia, 143(1): 21–27.
Appleby P G, Oldfield F. 1978. The calculation of lead-210 dates assuming a constant rate of supply of unsupported 210 Pb to the sediment. Catena, 5(1): 1–8.
Battarbee R W. 1986. Diatom analysis. In: Berglund B E ed. Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology. Wiley, Chichester. p.527–570.
Chai C, Yu Z M, Song X X, Cao X H. 2006. The status and characteristics of eutrophication in the Yangtze River (Changjiang) estuary and the adjacent East China Sea, China. Hydrobiologia, 563: 313–328.
Charles D F, Smol J P, Engstrom D R. 1994. Paleolimnological approaches to biological monitoring. In: Loeb S L, Spacie A eds. Biological Monitoring of Aquatic Systems. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, p.233–293.
Cooper S R, Brush G S. 1991. Long-term history of chesapeake bay anoxia. Science, 254(5034): 992–996.
Demaster D J, McKee B A, Nittrouer C A, Qian J C, Cheng G D. 1985. Rates of sediment accumulation and particle reworking based on radiochemical measurements from continental-shelf deposit in the East China Sea. Cont. Shelf Res., 4(1–2): 143–158.
Duan S, Liang T, Zhang S, Wang L, Zhang X, Chen X. 2008. Seasonal changes in nitrogen and phosphorus transport in the lower Changjiang River before the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. Estuar. Coast. Shelf S., 79(2): 239–250.
Fritz S C, Juggins, S, Battarbee R W, Engstrom D R. 1991. Reconstruction of past changes in salinity and climate using a diatom-based transfer function. Nature, 352: 706–708.
Grimm E C. 1987. CONISS-a fortran-77 program for strtigraphically constrained cluster-analysis by the method of incremental sum of squares. Comput Geosci., 13(1): 13–35.
Grimm E C. 1991. TILIA, Version 1.11. TILIAGRAPH, Version 1.18. In: A G ed. A Users Notebook. Illinois State Museum, Springfield, USA.
Guo Y, Qian S. 2003. Bacillariophyta in Flora Alarum Marginatum Sinistrum. Science Press, Beijing. p.1–493. (in Chinese)
Hasle G R, Syvertsen E E. 1996. Marine Diatoms. In: Tomas C R ed. Identifying Marine Diatoms and Dinoflagellates. Academic Press, San Diego. p.5–385.
Huh C A, Su C C. 1999. Sedimentation dynamics in the East China Sea elucidated from Pb-210, Cs-137 and Pu-239, Pu-240. Mar. Geol., 160(1–2): 183–196.
Kobayashi F, Takahashi K. 2002. Distribution of diatoms along the equatorial transect in the western and central Pacific during the 1999 La Nina conditions. Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 49(13–14): 2 801–2 821.
Lan D Z, Cheng Z D, Liu S Z. 1995. Diatoms in late Quaternary sediments from the South China Sea. Ocean Press, Beijing. p.1–138. (in Chinese)
Lapointe M. 2000. Modern diatom assemblages in surface sediments from the Maritime Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec (Canada). Mar. Micropaleontol., 40(1–2): 43–65.
Li X X, Thomas S B, Yang Z S, Lisa E O, Mead A A, Steven F D, Yang G P. 2011. Historical trends of hypoxia in Changjiang River estuary: applications of chemical biomarkers and microfossils. J. Mar. Syst., 86(2011): 57–68.
Liu D, Sun J, Zhang J, Liu G. 2008. Response of the diatom flora in Jiaozhou Bay, China to environmental changes during the last century. Mar. Micropaleontol., 66(3–4): 279–290.
Liu J P, Li A C, Xu K H, Veiozzi D M, Yang Z S, Milliman J D, DeMaster D. 2006. Sedimentary features of the Yangtze River-derived along-shelf clinoform deposit in the East China Sea. Cont. Shelf Res., 26(17–18): 2 141–2 156.
Liu J P, Xu K H, Li A C, Milliman J D, Velozzi D M, Xiao S B, Yang Z S. 2007. Flux and fate of Yangtze river sediment delivered to the East China Sea. Geomorphology, 85(3–4): 208–224.
McQuoid M R, Nordberg K. 2003. The diatom Paralia sulcata as an environmental indicator species in coastal sediments. Estuar. Coast. Shelf S., 56(2): 339–354.
Milliman J D, Syvitski J P M. 1992. Geomorphic teconic control of sediment discharge ot the ocean — the importance of small mountainous rivers. J. Geol., 100(5): 525–544.
Ning X R, Shi J X, Cai Y M, Liu C G. 2004. Biological productivity front in the Changjiang Estuary and the Hangzhou Bay and its ecological effects. Acta Oceanol Sin., 26(6): 96–106. (in Chinese)
Qi Y Z. 2003. Red Tides in China Coastal Areas. Science Press, Beijing. p.1–348. (in Chinese)
Ronnberg C, Bonsdorff E. 2004. Baltic Sea eutrophication: area-specific ecological consequences. Hydrobiologia, 514(1–3): 227–241.
Scherader H J, Gersonde R. 1978. Diatoms and silicoflagellates. Utr. Micropaleontol. Bull., 19: 439–444.
Shannon C E, Weaver W. 1949. The Mathematical Theory of Communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana IL. p.1–144.
Shen X Q, Hu R, Wang G L. 1995. Studies on phytoplankton in waters adjacent to islands of Shanghai. Mar. Sci. Bull., 14(4): 26–37. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Steven D M. 1971. International biological programme study of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 2nd Gulf of St. Lawrence Workshop-Bedford Institute of Oceanography. p.146–159.
Stoermer E F, Smol J P. 1999. The Diatoms: Applications for Environmental and Earth Sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. p.1–469.
Su J L. 1998. Circulation dynamics of the China Seas north of 18°N. In: Robinson A R, Brinks K H eds. The Sea. John Willey & Sons Inc, New York. p.483–505.
Terbraak C J F, Verdonschot P F M. 1995. Canonical correspondence-analysis and related multivariate methods in aquatic ecology. Aquat. Sci., 57(3): 255–289.
Wang B. 2006. Cultural eutrophication in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) plume: history and perspective. Estuar. Coast. Shelf S., 69(3–4): 471–477.
Wang X, Wang B, Zhang C, Shi X, Zhu C, Xie L, Han X, Xin Y, Wang J. 2008. Nutrient composition and distributions in coastal waters impacted by the Changjiang plume. Acta Oceanol. Sin., 27(5): 111–125. (in Chinese)
Wu Y L, Fu Y N, Zhang Y S, Pu X M, Zhou C X. 2004. Phytoplankton distribution and its relation to the runoff in the Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary. Oceanologica e t Limnologia Sinica, 35(3): 246–251. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Xie W L. 2006. Community Structure and Dynamics of Planktonic Diatoms in Typical Areas of East China Sea. Xiamen University. Xiamen, China. p.1–236. (in Chinese)
Xu Z L, Bai X M, Yuan Q, Jiang M, Gu X G. 1999. An ecological study on phytoplankton in the Changjiang estuary. J. Fish. Sci. China, 6(5): 52–54. (in Chinese)
Zhi C Y. 2005. Diatom and Paleoenvironment-Diatom on the Margin of the East China Sea and Paleoenvironment. Ocean Press, Beijing. p.1–141. (in Chinese)
Zhou M J, Shen Z L, Yu R C. 2008. Responses of a coastal phytoplankton community to increased nutrient input from the Changjiang (Yangtze) River. Cont. Shelf Res., 28(12): 1 483–1 489.
Zhou W H, Huo W Y, Yuan X C, Yin K D. 2003. Distribution features of chlorophyll a and primary productivity in high frequency area of red tide in East China Sea during spring. Chin. J. Appl. Ecol., 14(7): 1 055–1 059. (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2010CB428706) and the Funds for Creative Research Groups of China (No. 41121064)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cheng, F., Yu, Z. & Song, X. Long-term changes in sedimentary diatom assemblages and their environmental implications in the Changjiang (Yangtze) River estuary, China. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 32, 155–161 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-014-3133-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-014-3133-3