Spatial structure of eukaryotic ultraplankton community in the northern South China Sea

Spatial distribution, diversity and composition of eukaryotic ultraplankton community of the northern South China Sea (nSCS) surface water and the relationship with the in situ water environment were investigated by the method of polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). A total of 18 DGGE intensive bands were detected and the sequence analysis of these DGGE bands revealed that Alveolata was the dominant eukaryotic ultraplankton group of surface water in the nSCS (50%). Other species belonged to Bicoecea, Bolidophyceae, Polycystinea and Chlorophyta, which accounted for less proportion of eukaryotic ultraplankton in the study area. Unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages clustering of the sampling stations indicated that all stations were classified mainly based on geographical proximity. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was employed to further investigate the relationships between DGGE band pattern and the environmental variables. Based on the RDA analysis, temperature, salinity, phosphorus and silicate were the important factors to shape the eukaryotic ultraplankton community composition in the nSCS.