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We conducted shipboard microcosm experiments at both off-shore (SEATS) and near-shore (D001) stations in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) under three treatments, low temperature and low p CO 2 (LTLC), high temperature and low p CO 2 (HTLC), and high temperature and high p CO 2 (HTHC). Biomass of phytoplankton at both stations were enhanced by HT. HTHC did not affect phytoplankton biomass at station D001 but decreased it at station SEATS. HT alone increased net primary productivity by 234% at station SEATS and by 67% at station D001 but the stimulating effect disappeared when HC was combined. HT also increased respiration rate by 236% at station SEATS and by 87% at station D001 whereas HTHC reduced it by 61% at station SEATS and did not affect it at station D001. Overall, our findings indicate that the positive effect of ocean warming on phytoplankton assemblages in NSCS could be damped or offset by ocean acidification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of phytoplankton and thus marine primary productivity depend on photophysiological performance of phytoplankton cells that respond to changing environmental conditions. The South China Sea (SCS) is the largest marginal sea of the western Pacific and plays important roles in modulating regional climate and carbon budget. However, little has been documented on photophysiological characteristics of phytoplankton in the SCS. For the first time, we investigated photophysiological characteristics of phytoplankton assemblages in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) using a real-time in-situ active chlorophyll a fluorometry, covering 4.0 × 105 km2. The functional absorption cross section of photosystem II (PSII) in darkness (σPSII) or under ambient light (σPSII’) (A2 quanta-1) increased from the surface to deeper waters at all the stations during the survey period (29 July to 23 August 2012). While the maximum (Fv/Fm, measured in darkness) or effective (Fq’/Fm’, measured under ambient light) photochemical efficiency of PSII appeared to increase with increasing depth at most stations, it showed inverse relationship with depth in river plume areas. The functional absorption cross section of PSII changes could be attributed to light-adapted genotypic feature due to niche-partition and the alteration of photochemical efficiency of PSII could be attributed to photo-acclimation. The chlorophyll a fluorometry can be taken as an analog to estimate primary productivity, since areas of higher photochemical efficiency of PSII coincided with those of higher primary productivity reported previously in the NSCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We carried out experiments during an expedition (14 August to 14 September, 2007) that covered up to 250 000 km to investigate the effects of solar UV radiation (UVR, 280-400 nm) on the photosynthetic carbon fixation of tropical phytoplankton assemblages in surface seawater of the South China Sea. From coastal to pelagic surface seawaters, UV-B (280-315 nm) caused similar inhibition, while UV-A (315-400 nm) induced photosynthetic inhibition increased from coastal to offshore waters. UV-B resulted in an inhibition by up to 27% and UV-A by up to 29%. Under reduced levels of solar radiation with heavy overcast, UV-A resulted in enhanced photosynthetic carbon fixation by up to 25% in coastal waters where microplankton was abundant. However, such a positive impact was not observed in the offshore waters where piconanoplankton was more abundant. The daily integrated inhibition of UV-A reached 4.3% and 13.2%, and that of UV-B reached 16.5% and 13.5%, in the coastal and offshore waters, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]