Involved Member: Prof. Hongbin LIU

The diatom to dinoflagellate ratio (Diatom/Dino) has long been used as a benchmark to indicate the optimal level of a marine ecosystem. While diatoms usually grow in less polluted water, the toxin secreted by dinoflagellates can kill fish and cause hypoxia in coastal waters. Theoretically, the more the proportion of diatom, the better the water quality. The Diatom/Dino has doubled in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) from 2000 to 2017. The SKLMP member, Prof. Hongbin Liu, and his team found that the abundance of diatom may not be a result of water quality improvement, but a change of seawater temperature and nutrient composition in the PRE arising from the increasing anthropogenic input affects the growth of algae. Prof. Liu has also mentioned that not all diatoms species are harmless, some of them may be detrimental to the neural system of marine mammal and birds. Algae bloom is a major environmental problem, Prof. Liu wishes their model could shed light on prediction and even prevention of future blooms.

Reference:

Cheung, Y.Y., Cheung, S., Mak, J., Liu, K., Xia, X., Zhang, X., Yung, Y. & Liu, H.B. (2021). Distinct interaction effects of warming and anthropogenic input on diatoms and dinoflagellates in an urbanized estuarine ecosystem. Global Change Biology, 27, 3463–3473.