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Benthic Flora of Coral Reefs in Heavily Nutrient-Polluted Areas of Sanya Bay (Hainan Island, China) and Its Changes Recorded after Removing the Source of Pollution

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Abstract

The benthic flora off the Luhuitou Peninsula (Sanya Bay) was studied, for the first time, in areas located opposite a wastewater outlet from fish farm ponds and, thus, heavily polluted with nutrients (dissolved organic nitrogen (DIN), on average 30 μM; orthophosphates, 5.0 μM). Changes in the benthic flora were recorded before and after the farm stopped operation. It was shown that with a decrease in the concentration of nutrients in seawater (DIN, to 3 μM; orthophosphates, to 0.2 μM) the species diversity of macroalgae and cyanobacteria increased significantly over a year and a half, while the population density and biomass of macrophytes decreased. The values of all parameters of the studied flora in the previously heavily polluted areas became close to the average level for Sanya Bay.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 41476134), the Open Project of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea (grant no. DX2017003), the Scientific Research Foundation of Hainan University (grant no. KYQD(ZR)1805), and by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (the China–Russia special funds 2018–2019 grant).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, College of Marine Science, Hainan University, 570228, Haikou, China

    X. Li & Yu. Ren

  2. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia

    E. A. Titlyanov, T. V. Titlyanova & O. S. Belous

  3. Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510301, Guangzhou, China

    M. Guo & H. Huang

  4. Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 572000, Sanya, China

    M. Guo & H. Huang

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  1. X. Li
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  2. Yu. Ren
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  3. E. A. Titlyanov
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  4. T. V. Titlyanova
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  5. O. S. Belous
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  6. M. Guo
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  7. H. Huang
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Correspondence to E. A. Titlyanov.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies involving animals or human participants performed by any of the authors.

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Li, X., Ren, Y., Titlyanov, E.A. et al. Benthic Flora of Coral Reefs in Heavily Nutrient-Polluted Areas of Sanya Bay (Hainan Island, China) and Its Changes Recorded after Removing the Source of Pollution. Russ J Mar Biol 47, 105–113 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074021020073

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