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Phytoplankton community size structure, primary production and copepod production in a subtropical coastal inlet in Hong Kong

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2013

Alle A.Y. Lie ,
Lik Chi Wong  and
C. Kim Wong
Alle A.Y. Lie
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China
Lik Chi Wong
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China
C. Kim Wong*
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C.K. Wong, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China email: chongkimwong@cuhk.edu.hk
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Abstract

Phytoplankton primary production and copepod production, and the size composition of the phytoplankton community in Tolo Harbour, a semi-enclosed bay in north-eastern Hong Kong, were studied from February 2008 to March 2009. Chlorophyll-a (Chl a) concentrations decreased from an average of 9.07 µg l−1 in the inner part of the bay to 3.07 µg l−1 at the mouth of the bay. In terms of contribution to total Chl a biomass, the >20 µm size fraction dominated the phytoplankton community. The zooplankton community in Tolo Harbour was dominated by small copepods, with cephalothorax length ranging from ~0.3 to 0.4 mm, and the density of copepods decreased from ~15,000 ind.m−3 in the inner part of the bay to ~9,700 ind.m−3 at the mouth of the bay. Depth-integrated net primary production in Tolo Harbour was high, ranging from 0.34 to 10.40 g C m−2 day−1, with an overall mean of 2.64 g C m−2 day−1. In contrast, copepod production was low, ranging from 0.19 to 16.64 mg C m−3 day−1, with an overall mean of 2.73 mg C m−3 day−1. The low transfer efficiency of 1.4% between phytoplankton primary production and copepod secondary production suggests that the large phytoplankton was inefficiently grazed by the small copepods in Tolo Harbour.

Keywords

primary productioncopepod productiontransfer efficiencyeutrophicphytoplankton size fractions
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 8 , December 2013 , pp. 2155 - 2166
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013 

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