Distribution of calcareous nannoplankton in surface sediments from intertidal and shallow marine regimes of a marginal sea: Jason Bay,South China Sea

The surface sediments collected from the intertidal and shallow marine (0–20 m) regimes of Jason Bay, South China Sea contain calcareous nannoplankton assemblages in whichGephyrocapsa oceanica comprises 99% of the assemblage. The calcareous nannoplankton diversity is very low and the abundance of species tends to increase with both depth and distance offshore and becomes abundant in samples from water depths of 18 m and 20 m.Emiliania huxleyi is absent from all studied samples. The sediments from the intertidal regime contained rare calcareous nannoplankton.